Higher Education

Dari Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many applicants aged  (a) 21 to 25 and  (b) over 25 had applied for courses in higher education institutions in (i) 2003-04, (ii) 2004-05,(iii) 2005-06 and (iv) 2006-07 in the April before the start of each academic year; and what the percentage change was in each year.

Bill Rammell: The available figures are shown in the table. They are taken from press releases issued by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) in April each year which summarise applicant numbers as at 24 March, for each of the age bands of under21 years, 21-24 years, and over 24 years. The figures reinforce our view that the long-term trend of increasing university applications will continue. There was a larger than expected increase in the number of applicants for entry in 2005 and although the number of applicants for 2006 are down compared to 2005, they are above the numbers for 2004 entry. We experienced a similar dip in applications in 1998 when tuition fees were introduced, but numbers returned to their usual levels the following year and continued upwards thereafter. We expect this to be the trend going forward.
	
		
			  English-domiciled applicants by 24 March of each year, by age 
			   2003  2004  2005  2006 
			  Under 21 
			 Number 240,417 243,710 263,856 253,439 
			 Percentage change — +1.4 +8.3 -3.9 
			  
			  21-25 
			 Number 23,295 23,776 26,248 25,317 
			 Percentage change — +2.1 +10.4 -3.5 
			  
			  Over 24 
			 Number 24,683 25,821 29,452 27,868 
			 Percentage change — +4.6 +14.1 -5.4 
			  
			  Total 
			 Number 288,395 293,307 319,556 306,624 
			 Percentage change — +1.7 +8.9 -4.0 
			  Source: Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) Press Releases.

Private Office Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been paid in  (a) salary,  (b) travelling expenses,  (c) subsistence allowance and(d) removal expenses to special advisers in his private office in each of the last five years.

Tom Watson: Since 2003, the Government have published on an annual basis the names and overall cost of special advisers, including the number in each pay band. For information relating to the 2004-05 financial year I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, on 21 July 2005,  Official Report, columns 158-61WS. Information on special advisers for the last financial year is currently being collected and will be published in the normal way when itis ready.
	Travel and subsistence expenses could be provided only at disproportionate cost. There are no records of removal expenses raised against any special adviser working in the Ministry of Defence during the period in question.

QinetiQ

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total cost was of the legal and advisory fees incurred in the sale of QinetiQ to Carlyle, broken down by year in which they were incurred; and what proportion of the total cost was incurred by  (a) his Department,  (b) QinetiQ and  (c) Carlyle.

Adam Ingram: The sale of a stake in QinetiQ to The Carlyle Group was completed in February 2003. Starting in 1998, the overall PPP process included: options studies and public consultation; the division of DERA into QinetiQ and Dstl; the formation of QinetiQ as a limited company; the conduct of the competition resulting in the selection of Carlyle as MOD's Strategic Partner; and the completion of the legal negotiations and due diligence process necessary to complete the transaction. Work on many of these activities was conducted in parallel and they have not been separately costed.
	MOD's total expenditure on advisers throughout these stages of process was approximately £17.5 million over 5 years. This includes a cost of approximately£9.2 million for legal advice, broken down by financial year as shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Cost of external legal advice to the MOD on the QinetiQ PPP prior to the sale to Carlyle 
			  £ million 
			  Financial year  Amount 
			 1999-2000 0.4 
			 2000-01 0.7 
			 2001-02 2.3 
			 2002-03 4.5 
			 2003-04 1.3 
		
	
	The remaining £8.3 million covered a range of specialist financial, accounting, banking and other technical advice. In order to provide appropriate incentives, a significant proportion of this total was paid on completion of the sale as a success fee, and was calculated as a percentage of the value achieved at sale. Consequently, it is not possible to accurately attribute these costs across individual financial years.
	In addition to these fees, Dstl incurred £1.6 million of general advisory costs and £0.25 million of legal costs relating to its formation.
	The legal and advisory costs incurred by QinetiQ and The Carlyle Group are a matter for those two organisations.

Staff Absenteeism

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many working days were lost to his Department and its Executive agencies in each year since 1997 due to staff absenteeism, expressed as the average annual number of absent days per employee; and what the estimated total cost to the Department and its agencies of absenteeism was in each year.

Tom Watson: holding answer 19 June 2006
	The following tables show the rates of worker sickness absence for non-industrial and industrial civil servants, and the cost of that absence for non-industrials, in the Ministry of Defence since 1997.
	
		
			   Sickness absence rate( 1)  working days per FTE  Sickness absence working days  Sickness absence cost(£ million)( 2) 
			 1997(3) 8.4 573,000 38.59 
			 1998(3) 8.6 571,000 39.28 
			 1999(4) 8.1 538,700 37.23 
			 2000(4) 7.9 520,100 36.64 
			 2001(5) (6)— (6)— (6)— 
			 2002(4) 7.3 465,240 35.11 
			 2003(4) 7.6 480,980 37.99 
			 2004(4) 7.3 469,120 39.39 
			 2005(3) 7.4 475,170 — 
			 
			  Financial year
			 2005-06(3) 7.3 464,270 — 
			 (1) Sickness absence rates are based on FTE working days lost. For example, if a part-time employee (working 50 per cent. full-time hours) is sick for seven calendar days, this is five working days lost and 2.5 FTE working days lost. (2) Sickness absence costs for 1997 to 2004 are based on a Cabinet Office defined average daily salary rate for civilian non-industrial staff multiplied by the number of sickness absence working days lost. Comparable salary rates are not available for 2005 or the financial year 2005-06. (3) Rates are from the Annual Report "Analysis of Sickness Absence in the Civil Service" which is published by the Cabinet Office. (4) Rates for 1999 to 2004 are from UK Defence Statistics 2005 table 2.36 and are for calendar years (1 January to 31 December). The rates shown have been formed using a standardisation technique which involves adjusting unreasonably long absence lengths and removing obviously incorrect records. (5) There is no sickness absence information for non-industrial Ministry of Defence staff available for 2001 for data quality reasons. (6 )No reliable data available.  Note: Excludes non-industrial Ministry of Defence staff in trading funds and Royal Fleet Auxiliaries. 
		
	
	
		
			   Sickness absence rate( 1)  working days per FTE  Sickness absence working days 
			 1997(2) (3)13.7 337,100 
			 1998(2) (3)16.3 376,800 
			 1999(4) 12.9 320,900 
			 2000(5) (6)— (6)— 
			 2001(4) 14.8 304;900 
			 2002(4) 13.4 259,950 
			 2003(4) 12.5 209,870 
			 2004(4) 13.2 202,780 
			 2005(4) 11.9 176,840 
			
			  Financial year   
			 2005-06(4) 11.6 170,740 
			 (1) Sickness absence rates are based on FTE working days lost. For example, is a part-time employee (working 50 per cent. full-time hours) is sick for seven calendar days, this is five working days lost and 2.5 FTE working days lost. (2 )Sickness absence records for industrial staff are not as robust as for non-industrial staff and the early years are marked as provisional. (3) Provisional. (4) Rates for 1999 to 2004 are from UK Defence Statistics 2005 table 2.36 and are for calendar years (1 January to 31 December). Rates for calendar year 2005 and the financial year (1 April-31 March) for 2005-06 are calculated on a consistent basis and will appear in UK Defence Statistics 2006. The rates shown have been formed using a standardisation technique which involves adjusting unreasonably long absence lengths and removing obviously incorrect records. (5) There is no sickness absence information for industrial Ministry of Defence staff available for 2000 for data quality reasons. (6 )No reliable data available.  Notes: 1. Excludes industrial Ministry of Defence staff in trading funds and Royal Fleet Auxiliaries. 2. Consistent salary rate information for industrial staff are not available on a compile basis to non-industrial staff above to allow the calculation of the cost of their sickness absence.

Afghanistan

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance is provided by her Department for the training of  (a) members of the judiciary and  (b) the police force in Afghanistan; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: Working with Italy, which retains the international lead on judicial reform in Afghanistan, and other international partners, the UK is helping Afghanistan establish a functional, accessible, equitable and sustainable justice system.
	The UK has provided US$500,000 in supportof the United Nations Development Programme "Strengthening the Justice System of Afghanistan" (SJSA). The SJSA programme is helping the Government of Afghanistan restructure the justice system to bring it into compliance with the constitution; rehabilitate judicial infrastructure; strengthen service delivery capacity of justice institutions and justice professionals; promote rule of law and improve access to justice. This programme supports the Government of Afghanistan's "Justice for All" Action Plan which provides the basis for the reform of the Justice Sector over the next twelve years.
	Through the Global Opportunities Fund, the UK has also funded the Bar Human Rights Committee to deliver training to key actors in the legal sector. The training, delivered in April 2006, to staff from the Ministry of Women's Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Afghan National Police and the Lawyers Association of Afghanistan focused on the re-establishment of the rule of law, women's access to justice, and human rights in international and domestic law.
	Germany is responsible for co-ordinating international assistance to the Afghan government's police reform programmes. Since 2002, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has administered almost £5 million in support of these programmes through the Department for International Development/Ministry of Defence/FCO funded Global Conflict Prevention Pool (GCPP). In financial year (FY) 2002-03 the GCPP Afghanistan Strategy contributed around £112,000, in 2003-04 £2.5 million, in 2004-05£1.6 million and in 2005-06 £760,000. This has funded two UK police trainers at the Kabul Police Academy (2002-06), five UK mentors at the Regional Police Training College in Mazar-e-Sharif (2004-06) and the creation of a Crime Scene Investigation team in Kabul (2003-05). In FY 2006-07 the GCPP will continue to support police reform through the appointment of a Senior Police Adviser to the UK-led Provincial Reconstruction Team in Lashkar Gah. The Adviser's role will include the provision of support to local police and justice officials in Helmand as well as identifying ways in which the UK can provide assistance to support the German and US police programmes.
	The UK has also allocated £15 million in FY 2006-07 towards counter-narcotics law enforcement in Afghanistan. This funding will help support the Counter-Narcotics Police of Afghanistan, the lead drugs law enforcement agency, and the Afghan Special Narcotics Force (ASNF) through training, mentoring and equipping personnel. The ASNF has caused significant disruption to the drugs trade, forcing traffickers to move drugs in smaller quantities. The ASNF is playing an important role as part of the wider Afghan law enforcement effort against illegal drugs.

Afghanistan

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the progress in the training of  (a) members of the judiciary and  (b) the police force in Afghanistan; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: Italy has been leading the international community's effort on judicial reform. Training members of the judiciary has been a central focus and progress has been made. Over the past four years a series of training programmes funded by the international community has seen over 600 Afghan judges, prosecutors and lawyers, of whom 42 were women, undergo specialised legal training. These programmes are set to continue with further projects delivering training in legal aid, criminal and commercial law, technical assistance, financial crime, juvenile crime and gender justice to senior judges, law graduates and government officials.
	Despite these efforts Afghanistan's justice system still lacks sufficiently qualified officials, adequate legal education and the necessary administrative tools and physical infrastructure. The UK will continue to support both the Afghan Government and our development partners in reforming Afghanistan's justice sector.
	Germany has been leading efforts to train and reform the Afghan national police with assistance from the US. Since August 2002, there have been some considerable achievements. Over 50,000 police of all ranks and branches have been trained at the re-established Police Academy and at five regional training centres. A pay and rank review is underway aiming to reduce the current top-heavy structure and raise police salaries in order to attract the best candidates. An international conference on border management and police was co-hosted by Afghanistan and Germany in Qatar in February. It endorsed the findings that replenishment of the Law and Order Trust Fund, used to partly fund police salaries, was critical to the success of police pay and rank reform. We support this finding and the valuable work that the international community, in particular Germany and the US are putting into police training and reform.

Afghanistan

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the total UK expenditure on reconstruction assistance for Afghanistan has been since 2002; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: Since financial year 2001-02, the UK has committed over £1 billion in development assistance to Afghanistan. This includes the most recent pledge of £500 million in development aidmade at the London Conference on Afghanistan in January 2006.
	The UK is the second largest bilateral donor to Afghanistan behind the United States. We alsoremain the largest contributor to the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund, having committed£295 million between 2002-08.

Afghanistan

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate she has made of the reduction in the volume of the poppy harvest which will result from the work of the British and coalition troops in Afghanistan in each of the next four years.

Kim Howells: UK forces in Afghanistan are deployed under the international security assistance force (ISAF) and are not there to take direct action against the drugs trade. They will contribute to the broader counter-narcotics effort by providing the secure environment in which the rule of law can be applied, reconstruction can take place and legal rural livelihoods can be developed. ISAF forces will be able to help with the provision of training to Afghan counter-narcotics forces and will, within means and capabilities, provide support to their operations. They will also help the Afghan Government explain their policies to the Afghan people.
	Sustainable drug elimination strategies take time. Bringing about a sustainable decrease in poppy cultivation requires a range of activities including arresting and convicting the traffickers who profit from the trade, and putting in place the development programmes which enable farmers to move awayfrom growing poppy. That is why the UK is spending £270 million over a three-year period on supporting the Government of Afghanistan's National Drug Control Strategy.

Afghanistan

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of  (a) reports of detainee abuse and (b) extra-judicial police actions in Afghanistan; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Annual Human Rights Report states that Afghanistan remains a country of concern for human rights reasons. We continue to receive reports of detainee abuse and extra-judicial action throughout Afghanistan. While the Afghan Government have made real progress in improving human rights, they currently lack the resources and capacity to deal with all the challenges they face.
	The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), established in June 2002,is an autonomous institution within the Afghan Government set up to monitor human rights abuses and implement transitional justice. It continues to work closely with the Government of Afghanistan and international partners to combat the culture of impunity that has existed in Afghanistan and led to past human rights abuses. Since its inception the Commission has closed some 40 private jails; has had 1,600 people, who were being held illegally, released from prison, and had managed eight workshops for prison governors on human rights. Its work is helping the country make a full transition to stability and peace based on democracy and human rights. I am pleased to be able to tell the hon. Member that the UK recently committed US$1 million in funding to the AIHRC.

Afghanistan

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the total UK expenditure on  (a) poppy eradication and interdiction,  (b) law enforcement and  (c) support of alternative livelihoods has been in Afghanistan in each yearsince 2003.

Kim Howells: Over financial years 2003-04 and 2004-05, the UK allocated the following amounts to poppy eradication, law enforcement and interdiction, and alternative livelihoods in Afghanistan:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Financial year 
			   2003-04  2004-05 
			 Eradication 1.33 2.25 
			 Law enforcement and interdiction 3.6 8.6 
			 Alternative livelihoods 5.8 10.7 
		
	
	As interdiction and eradication are separate strands of work the figures are not combined; interdiction figures are combined with law enforcement.
	A written ministerial statement providing a breakdown of the £87 million spent over 2005-06 will shortly be released. Over 2006-07, £91.7 million will be spent by the UK on counter-narcotics in Afghanistan.

China

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has made to the Chinese Government regarding the extreme cruelty to animals which takes place in China's animal markets.

Ian McCartney: The Government take animal rights in China very seriously. We regularly raise the treatment of animals with the Chinese Government, most recently during my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's visit to China in November 2005, as the then Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. We also welcome the work that non-governmental organisations undertake with the Chinese authorities to improve standards of animal welfare and to gradually build support for animal welfare issues there.

Family Planning

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on which occasions  (a) the UK has voted against and the US has voted for and  (b) the UK has voted for and the US has voted against the adoption of measures relating to abortion and family planning related issues by the United Nations since 1997.

Kim Howells: Abortion and family planning related issues crop up explicitly and implicitly in a wide range of UN bodies e.g. the General Assembly's Third and Second Committees, the Commission on Human Rights, the Commission on the Status of Women, the Commission on Population and Development, the United Nations Population Fund Executive Board, the World Health Assembly, General Assembly special sessions on e.g. HIV/AIDS and on Children.
	Within those bodies, abortion and family planning related issues arise in a number of resolutions, often unexpected ones.
	Generally speaking, most resolutions on family planning related issues in the UN are passed withouta vote.
	Few UN resolutions explicitly mention "abortion". Much of the debate in New York has centred on the phrase "sexual and reproductive health services". The US often makes an explanation of position after the adoption of such resolutions, to the effect that they do not recognise abortion as a method of family planning or support abortion in their reproductive health assistance.
	Given the aforementioned factors, specifying those occasions on which there have been votes, and which way the US and UK have voted, would incur disproportionate costs.

Guantanamo Bay

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the comments by US officials that three prisoners detained by the United Statesat Guantanamo Bay committed suicide as a public relations gesture.

Kim Howells: The President of the United States has expressed serious concern about the deaths of three detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. We would share his sense of concern and await the results of the investigation into those deaths that has been promised by the US Government.

Iraq

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what technical assistance the UK is giving to the development of the judicial system and the training of judges in Iraq.

Kim Howells: The United Kingdom offers a wide range of support to the Iraqi justice system, including:
	training over 260 Iraqi judges, prosecutors, lawyers and justice department officials in human rights, international humanitarian law and independence of the judiciary. This has included training Iraqi trainers to implement humanitarian law training in Iraq;
	contribution to an international fund that meets the cost of international advisers to the Iraqi High Tribunal, recruited by the tribunal to provide advice on international law in the trial of Saddam Hussein and members of his former regime;
	supporting the development of judicial networks, in particular of young lawyers, in association with the Iraqi Bar Association;
	offering support and assistance to help ensure the Central Criminal Court of Iraq has the capacity to uphold the Ruleof Law.
	The United Kingdom also supports the European Union's integrated Rule of Law Mission, training senior officials from Iraq's judicial, police and correctional services in the UK. The courses expose participants to UK working practices, methods of cooperation across the Rule of Law sector, and the importance of an overall approach which integrates respect for human rights.

Israel

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make a statement on the shelling of the Beit Lahia beach in the Gaza Strip by Israeli artillery; and what assessment she has made of the effect of the incident on the Middle East peace process.

Kim Howells: Israel has denied responsibility for the deaths of seven Palestinians on 9 June. However, we remain concerned that Israel's response to rocket fire from the Gaza Strip should be proportional. We call on Israel to ensure that civilians, particularly children, are not harmed. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed this matter with Israeli Foreign Minister Livni on 12 June. We also continue to call for an end to rocket fire from the Gaza Strip on Israeli targets and for calm in the occupied territories. We support President Abbas' efforts to restore order, using legally constituted security forces.

Laos

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make representations to the Laos authorities on the case of the 10 North Korean refugees held in Luang Prabang detention centre in Laos, who may be handed over to the Chinese authorities.

Ian McCartney: We understand the 10 Democratic Peoples Republic of Korean refugees detained in Laos have been released.

Sri Lanka

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what her assessment is of the implications of the recent decision by the European Parliament to proscribe the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: We welcome the EU's decision to list the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as a terrorist organisation. The EU listing procedure is a means by which EU member states work together collectively to fulfil their obligations under UN Security Council Resolution 1373 to freeze the assets of terrorists without delay. The EU has repeatedly urged the LTTE to change their ways, to turn away from violence, return to the negotiation table and pursue peace through political means. It is hoped the listing will help the LTTE to see that they need to change their ways and move away from their path of violence. At the same time, the EU has asked the Government of Sri Lanka to rein in other paramilitary groups from carrying out attacks in government-controlled areas. The only way forward in the conflict is a negotiated settlement that satisfies the concerns and legitimate aspirations of all Sri Lankans and preserves democracy in Sri Lanka.

Vietnam

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will make representations to the Vietnamese Government to call for the release of imprisoned Hmong Protestant leader Ma Van Bay.

Ian McCartney: We, with our EU partners, raise human rights issues with the Vietnamese Government at every suitable opportunity. We raised the case ofMa Van Bay, with our EU partners, in Hanoi in May. The EU expressed subsequently our concerns regarding his case to the Vietnamese Government at the latest meeting of the EU-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue in Hanoi on 14 June. We, with our EU partners, will continue to press the Vietnamese to respond to our concerns regarding this case.

Whaling

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times  (a) she and  (b) her predecessor met representatives from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to discuss whaling over the last 12 months.

Ian McCartney: holding answer 16 June 2006
	There have been no ministerial discussions between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on this issue. Officials from both Departments, however, work closely throughout the year to ensure our policy on whaling is communicated to countries that are currently members of the International Whaling Commission and to those who have an interest in cetacean conservation. We will continue to work together on these important issues.

Broadcast Proceedings

David Lepper: To ask the Chairman of the Administration Committee if he will make a statement on the changes recommended by the Committee to the rules on broadcasting proceedings of the House and on filming and photography within the precincts.

Frank Doran: The Committee has recently made a number of recommendations on changes to therules on broadcasting proceedings of the Houseand on filming and photography within the precincts. Mr. Speaker has agreed to these changes being made on a trial basis. The Committee will consider in December whether to recommend that they be made permanent.
	From the return of the House in October, and for a trial period, a greater variety of shots of proceedings in the Chamber will be allowed than is the case at present, including a greater use of reaction shots in order to illustrate the mood of the House, and the provision of a low-level atmospheric sound-feed during divisions rather than the current complete silence.
	From the same time, BBC Parliament will be released on a trial basis from the undertaking previously given to the Broadcasting Committee, to carry live Commons Chamber coverage regardless of proceedings at the same time in the House of Lords, on condition that the freedom to select proceedings in the Lords should be used only sparingly, and that Mr. Speaker should be consulted in such cases. A reporter voice-over will also now be permitted during divisions.
	Two new interview points have been identified within the precincts: in the south west corner of Westminster Hall once the current works there have been completed, and on the Green in New Palace Yard, subject in the latter case to a permit from the Serjeant at Arms. Filming pieces to camera of a presenter walking across Central Lobby will also be permitted before 9 am on non-sitting days, similarly subject to a permit from the Serjeant at Arms.

Select Committee Recommendations

David Amess: To ask the Leader of the House what actions have been taken by his Department to implement  (a) Procedure and  (b) Modernisation of the House of Commons Select Committee recommendations since the 2001-02 session; and if he will make a statement.

Jack Straw: The actions being taken by the Government in response to the reports of the Procedure and Modernisation Committees, so far as they are matters for Government, have been set out in written responses to those reports and subsequent debates on the floor of the House. The following tables give details in relation to each report.
	 (a) Procedure Committee
	
		
			  Report  Government reply and any subsequent debate 
			 1st Report 2001-02: Making remedial orders: recommendations of the JCHR Letter to JCHR published in HC 112 of session 2004-05 
			 2nd Report 2001-02: Appointment of Deputy Speakers HC 1121 of session 2001-02 
			 3rd Report 2001-02: Parliamentary Questions Cm 5628 Motion and related Standing Order changes debated by the House on29 October 2002 
			 1st (and 2nd) Reports 2002-03: Delegated Legislation: proposals for a sifting committee HC 684 of session 2002-03 
			 3rd Report 2002-03: Sessional Orders HC 613 of session 2003-04Motion debated by the House on 3 November 2004 
			 4th report 2002-03: Procedures for Debates, Private Members' Bills and the Powers of the Speaker HC 610 of session 2003-04 Motion and related Standing Order changes debated by the House on 26 October 2004 
			 1st Report 2003-04: Estimates and appropriation procedure HC 576 of session 2003-04 Motion and related Standing Order changes debated by the House on 12 May 2004 
			 2nd Report 2003-04: Results of sitting hours questionnaire No response required 
			 3rd Report 2003-04: Joint activities with the National Assembly for Wales HC 681 of session 2003-04 Related Standing Order changes debated 7 June 2004 
			 4th Report 2003-04: Programming of Legislation HC 1169 of session 2003-04 Motion and related Standing Order changes debated by the House on 26 October 2004 
			 1st Report 2004-05: The Sub Judice rule of the House of Commons No response yet required (further work being done by Committee) 
			 1st Report 2005-06: Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill Letter to Chairman of Committee Recommendations being further considered during passage of the Bill 
		
	
	 (b) Modernisation Committee
	
		
			  Report  Government reply and any subsequent debate 
			 1st Report 2001-02: Select committees Motion and related Standing Order changes debated by the House 14 May 2002 
			 2nd Report 2001-02: House of Commons Reform programme Motion and related Standing Order changes debated by the House 29 October 2002 
			 1st Report (2002-03): Programming of Bills Related Standing Order changes debated by the House6 November 2003 
			 1st Report (2003-04): Connecting Parliament with the Public Related Standing Order changes and Motion debated by the House on 26 November 2004 and 26 January 2005 
			 1st Report (2004-05): Sitting Hours Related Standing Order changes debated by the House 26 January 2005 
			 2nd Report (2004-05): Scrutiny of European Business Under consideration

Antisocial Behaviour (Trains)

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many antisocial behaviour orders have been applied for by the British Transport Police in the last 12 months, broken down by  (a) Government office region and  (b) constituency.

Derek Twigg: The British Transport Police (BTP) have provided the following information on the number of antisocial behaviour order applications recorded by BTP Area; data is not collected by Government office region or by parliamentary constituency.
	Between 31 May 2005 and 1 June 2006 the following number of antisocial behaviour order applications were made by the BTP:
	
		
			  BTP area  Applications 
			 London North 7 
			 London South 32 
			 London Underground 32 
			 North East 8 
			 North West 1 
			 Scotland 0 
			 Wales and Western 0

Car Sharing

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what help the Department is giving to car sharing schemes.

Gillian Merron: Through the local transport planning system and other initiatives, the Department encourages local authorities to set up authority-wide car share schemes and to promote car sharing as part of site specific workplace travel plans.
	The Highways Agency are implementing workplace travel plans on the strategic road network and piloting the use of dedicated car share lanes.

Crossrail

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect on the cost of the Crossrail project of re-using  (a) the Farringdon to Moorgate section of Thameslink and  (b) the disused Moorgate to Liverpool Street mainline station link.

Derek Twigg: I understand from Crossrail London Rail Links Ltd (CLRL) that reusing the section of Thameslink running from Farringdon to Moorgate for operational purposes would involve bringing the tunnel up to the surface near Farringdon and returning below ground near Moorgate. This is considered impractical, given that there is not sufficient space for tunnel portals in these areas. Therefore, CLRL has not carried out a cost assessment of this option.
	CLRL have informed me that they are not aware of a disused mainline station link running from Moorgate to Liverpool street.

Debt Collectors

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether  (a) his Department and  (b) its(i) executive agencies and (ii) non-departmental public bodies use the services of private debt collectors.

Gillian Merron: The services of private debt collectors are not used by the Department, its executive agencies nor its non-departmental bodies. However, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is to launch a nine-month trial from 26 June 2006 for the use of private debt collectors to recover unpaid continuous registration penalties.

Roads

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the carbon dioxide impact of each road scheme which he has approved since 2000 through the local transport plans.

Gillian Merron: The Department considers carbon dioxide impacts of road schemes as part of the normal major scheme approval processes. However, information on the carbon dioxide impacts of each road scheme approved since 2000 through local transport plans could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

Rochdale/Oldham Loop Line

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to claw back funding from the operators of the Rochdale/Oldham Loop Line following reductions in services over the last four years.

Derek Twigg: Northern Rail operates services between Manchester and Oldham/Rochdale. The level of service which Northern Rail operates between these locations is in line with that required by their franchise agreement.

Rural Transport Services

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many bus passenger miles in rural areas were undertaken in  (a) 1997 and  (b) 2005; and how many of these were supported by public funds.

Gillian Merron: The Department does not hold information on passenger miles for all rural areas in the form requested, and it is not possible to identify total local authority support for rural services. However, in 1998, in recognition of the particular needs of rural areas, we introduced specific funding for the support of rural bus services through the Rural Bus Subsidy Grant (RBSG). The grant is distributed to local authorities on the basis of their rural population. Total grant for England has risen from £32.5 million in 1998 to£54.3 million in 2006. The grant has provided for over 2,000 new and enhanced services.

Commonwealth Institute Building

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether her Department hasplans to bring forward legislation relating to the Commonwealth Institute building; what meetings (a) she and  (b) her officials have had to discuss delisting of the Commonwealth Institute; and who attended each meeting.

David Lammy: Given the Commonwealth Institute's unique role as an international and inter-governmental organisation, whose future is of concern to all53 Commonwealth countries, Government are considering whether special measures are appropriate in relation to the Commonwealth Institute building. No decisions have yet been taken.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State hashad two meetings with representatives of the Commonwealth Institute. A cross-government working group, which included representatives from the Commonwealth Institute, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Department for International Development, Department for Education and Skills, and No. 10 met on a number of occasions to discuss Government support for the Commonwealth Institute. The group received advice on the planning process from the then, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which Minister in her Department is responsible for monitoring her Department's compliance with its duty under section 74 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 to have regard to the purpose of conserving biological diversity in carrying out its functions; and if she will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: Under Section 74 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, Ministers and Government Departments have a duty to have regard to the purpose of conserving biological diversity.This has been replaced by a similar provision under Section 40 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act which comes into effect on the1 October 2006. There is no statutory duty to monitor compliance with this duty.
	I have responsibility within the Department for sustainable development issues. We have taken a number of steps to benefit biodiversity including:
	Signing up to the biodiversity target under the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate.
	Continuing to support the work of the Royal Parks Agency, delivered through their biodiversity management plans for each of the eight royal parks.

Departmental Chief Accounting Officer

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the  (a) name,  (b) professional and academic qualifications and  (c) relevant experience are of the chief accounting officer of her Department.

David Lammy: The permanent secretary, Dame Sue Street, is the accounting officer for DCMS, has an MA degree and her professional career spans over 30 years in the public and private sector. The accounting officer is a role that the permanent secretary combines with her personal responsibility for the overall organisation, management and staffing of the Department and for department-wide procedures in financial and other matters. The accounting officer is assisted in the discharge of these duties by suitably qualified and experienced senior managers including the chief operating officer who has a degree in economics and is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

Diamond Jubilee

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what preparations are being made to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

David Lammy: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is not currently involved in preparations to commemorate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012. Any announcement of plans will be made closer tothe time.

Flags

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether the  (a) flag of the Commonwealth and  (b) personal Commonwealth flag of Her Majesty the Queen will be displayed at this year's Trooping the Colour.

David Lammy: For Trooping of the Colour, the flagsof all 53 countries currently in the Commonwealthare flown in Horseguards Road. The flag of the Commonwealth and the personal Commonwealth flag of Her Majesty are not flown.

Goodison Report

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many of the recommendations of the Goodison report she has implemented; which recommendations relating to direct taxation she has implemented; and what plans she has to implement the recommendations not implemented to date.

David Lammy: The Goodison Report contains a total of 45 recommendations. Of these, 29 recommendations are directed at a range of bodies, including: my own Department; the various funding bodies; the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA—formerly Resource); the Arts and Humanities Research Council (formerly—Arts and Humanities Research Board); the Trustees of the National Heritage Memorial Fund/Heritage Lottery Fund; HM Revenue and Customs; and 16 recommendations relate to taxation and so are a matter for the Treasury.
	The key areas in which the Goodison Report has been implemented are as follows:
	my Department's administrative responsibilities for export licensing, the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art, the Government indemnity scheme and the acceptance in lieu scheme have all been transferred to the MLA;
	the Renaissance in the Regions programme for regional museums has been extended to all nine English regions;
	annual funding for the National Heritage Memorial Fund will increase to £10 million in 2007-08; and
	the VAT refund scheme has been extended to university museums and galleries.

National Lottery

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to which organisations New Opportunities funding has been distributed in each Westminster constituency; and which projects were funded.

Richard Caborn: The New Opportunities Fund (NOF) has made 1,831 lottery grants, with a total value of over £110 million, in Northern Ireland. It is not possible to list all the recipient organisations and projects, but details of each project can be viewedon my Department's website, searchable at www.lottery.culture.gov.uk, which uses information supplied by the lottery distributors.
	The following table gives the number and value of NOF awards in each Westminster constituency in Northern Ireland.
	
		
			  Constituency  Number of awards  Total value of awards (£) 
			 Belfast East 56 1,953,046 
			 Belfast North 114 16,448,626 
			 Belfast South 107 16,190, 263 
			 Belfast West 119 4,854,711 
			 East Antrim 58 746,982 
			 East Londonderry 102 1,661,302 
			 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 144 4,065,440 
			 Foyle 168 8,271,792 
			 Lagan Valley 66 1,644,067 
			 Mid Ulster 141 7,610,417 
			 Newry and Armagh 139 10,320,619 
			 North Antrim 106 12,633,210 
			 North Down 48 1,212,856 
			 South Antrim 84 2,081,065 
			 South Down 90 1,777,694 
			 Strangford 85 9,308,154 
			 Upper Bann 72 2,124,799 
			 West Tyrone 132 7,447,990

Trooping the Colour

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Culture, Media and Sport how the Government will be represented at this year's Trooping theColour.

Tom Watson: Trooping the Colour at the Queen's birthday parade is organised by Headquarters The Household Division. They do not allocate tickets to individual Members of the Government, but blocks of seats are allocated to the Prime Minister's Office and to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The Ministry of Defence was represented by the Armed Forces Minister.

Building Regulations

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment her Department has made of the extent to which private sector providers are used by local authorities to enforce building regulations.

Angela Smith: We have made no such assessment. The statutory function of enforcing the building regulations rests with local authorities. Local authorities may engage private sector professional assistance to help them discharge their day-to-day building control responsibilities, e.g. assisting withplan checking.

Fire Service

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the Department and its predecessors have spent on external consultants on fire service related projects in each year since 2000, broken down by project.

Angela Smith: I refer the hon. Member tothe answer given to the hon. Member for Stroud(Mr. Drew) on 9( )May 2006,  Official Report,column 218W.
	The Department of Communities and Local Government was formed in May 2006 (formerly ODPM formed in May 2002) and expenditure prior to May 2002 could be provided only at disproportionate cost. For the period May 2002 to March 2006 the figures are detailed in the following table.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Cost 
			 2002-03 3.38 
			 2003-04 5.29 
			 2004-05 13.27 
			 2005-06 15.35 
		
	
	The increase in expenditure since 2002-03 can be explained by the three large projects known as New Dimension, Firelink and FireControl.
	These projects constitute:
	(i) an important part of the Government's response to the events of 11 September 2001;
	(ii) a reflection of the need to serve the interests of public safety and security by enhancing the ability of the fire and rescue service to respond to major incidents; and
	(iii) support the modernisation of the fire and rescue service following Professor Bain's Independent Review of the Fire Service, published in December 2002.
	The use of consultants enables a range of professional expertise to be deployed on these projects.

Benefits (Appeals)

David Ruffley: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many appeal cases for  (a) incapacity benefit,  (b) disability living allowance and  (c) jobseeker's allowance were lodged in each of the last five years; and how many were successful.

Vera Baird: The information you have asked for is set out in the following tables.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of lodged and successful jobseeker allowance benefits appeals 
			   Total claims lodged for JSA  Total claims for JSA cleared in favour of appellants 
			 2001 19,110 2,310 
			 2002 18,550 2,120 
			 2003 16,390 2,130 
			 2004 14,970 1,880 
			 2005 14,630 1,850 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of lodged and successful incapacity benefits appeals 
			   Total claims: 
			   Lodged for IB (PCA)  For IB (PCA) cleared in favour of appellants  Lodged for IB (not PCA)  For IB (not PCA) cleared in favour of appellants 
			 2001 44,740 12,800 8,050 1,390 
			 2002 52,870 16,520 8,180 1,630 
			 2003 55,760 20,260 8,600 1,790 
			 2004 55,130 19,880 8,530 1,700 
			 2005 54,830 21,240 7,950 1,730 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3:Number of lodged and successful disability living allowance benefits appeals 
			   Total claims lodged for DLA  Total claims for DLA cleared in favour of appellants 
			 2001 86,420 45,160 
			 2002 82,540 39,490 
			 2003 87,620 36,850 
			 2004 90,220 38,170 
			 2005 84,040 35,900 
			  Notes: 1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Figures are for each calendar year (January to December). 3. All figures are subject to change as more up to date data become available. 4. Figures for the latest months will rise substantially as information feeds through to the Appeals Service. 5. 'Cleared in favour' indicates that the appeal was cleared in favour of the appellant. 6. "Lodged" denotes when an appeal is submitted to the first tier agency. Lodged data only enters the GAPS database when the appeal reaches the Appeals Service. 7. PCA = Personal Capability Assessment.  Source:  100 per cent. download of the Generic Appeals Processing System.

Capita Group

Chris Grayling: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what meetings  (a) she and  (b) Ministers in her Department have held with directors and senior executives of (i) Capita Group plc and (ii) its subsidiaries since 1 January 2004; and whether (A) Capita Group plc and (B) its subsidiaries have provided input (1) in writing and(2) in person to policy discussions in her Department since 1 January 2004.

Harriet Harman: Capita Group plc has a large numberof trading subsidiaries and I am unable to providethe requested information without incurring disproportionate costs.

Compensation Bill

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will bring forward a Government New Clause to the Compensation Bill [Lords] to define 'desirable activity'; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: The Government do not intend to introduce a new clause to define desirable activity. The provision in Clause 1 of the Bill gives the court the flexibility to consider all the relevant circumstances of the case to reach a fair and just decision. Including a definition of 'desirable activity' could imply that certain types of desirable activity would have more weight than others, and would not reflect the existing law.

Compensation Bill

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will bring forward a Government New Clause to the Compensation Bill [Lords] to overturn the House of Lords judgment in the case of Barker; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: The Government fully understands the concerns that have been expressed about the judgment and are determined to find the best way to address the resulting issues for the claimants involved. As the Prime Minister has indicated, we are looking at this very carefully and hope to be in a position to make an announcement in the next couple of weeks.

Compensation Bill

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will provide an explanatory note to define the phrase 'desirable activity' in the context of Clause 1 of the Compensation Bill [Lords].

Bridget Prentice: Defining the phrase desirable activity is not necessary or appropriate. The concept which it embodies is the very well-established one of taking the wider social value of activities into account. This reflects the existing law and the courts are already able to—and do—take these matters into account when considering all the circumstances of an individual case.

CORE

Eric Pickles: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the set-up costs were of the co-ordinated online record of electors (CORE); and what she estimates the running costs of CORE will be in the next three financial years.

Bridget Prentice: The Home Office set out the possible role of the National Identity Register and the National Identity Scheme in relation to electoral registration and voting in its evidence to the House of Commons Constitutional Affairs and ODPM: Housing, Planning, Local Government and the Regions Committees published by the Committees on 16 March 2005.
	Identity cards cannot become compulsory without further primary legislation. Unless, and until, that occurs, the National Identity Register (NIR) could not replace the existing electoral registration process where an annual canvass is used to establish electoral registers.
	Any future proposal to use the NIR to replace the existing electoral registration process would need detailed exploration with the Home Office, and with stakeholders, including electoral registration officers and political parties.
	While the NIR could have a role in improving the quality of the information held on the electoral register and could potentially support the electoral registration process if and when identity cards become mandatory, separate registers could still be required as there are likely to be individuals, such as citizens residing overseas, who may be entitled to vote but may not be on the NIR.

County Court Records

Mark Todd: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of15 May 2006,  Official Report, column 732W, on county court records, whether she has received representations on  (a) the Department's contract with Registry Trust and  (b) the appropriateness of the contract in the context of European legislation on the re-use of public sector information.

Harriet Harman: No representations have been received by the Department on its contract with Registry Trust Ltd., nor its appropriateness in the context of European legislation on the re-use of public sector information.
	Registry Trust Ltd., in their role as Registrar of the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines, carry out a statutory function on behalf of the Lord Chancellor. Therefore, the provisions of Directive 2003/98/EC, requiring public sector bodies to avoid as far as possible exclusive agreements between themselves and private partners when establishing the principles for re-use of documents, do not apply to its contract with Registry Trust Ltd.

Departmental Documents

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which  (a) individuals and  (b) organisations received an embargoed copy of each (i) consultation document and (ii) White Paper produced by her Department in(A) 2005 and (B) 2006; and if she will make a statement.

Vera Baird: Embargoed copies of the Legal Services White Paper in 2005 and the draft Coroners Bill produced by DCA in 2006 were received by a range of individuals and organisations. One organisation received embargoed copies of the Draft Inquiry Procedure (UK Inquiries) Rules consultation document from my Department in 2006. The majority of DCA consultations are not embargoed.
	Embargoed copies of the White Paper published on 17 October 2005 called "The Future of Legal Services: Putting Consumers First" was received by:
	Chairman of the Bar Council
	President of the Law Society
	President of the Chartered Institute for Patent Agents
	President of the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys
	Dean of the Arches and Auditor, Master of the Faculties
	Chair of the Constitutional Affairs Select Committee (CASC)
	Opposition spokesmen Oliver Heald MP, Simon Hughes MP, Lord Goodhart QC and The Right Honourable Lord Kingsland QC, The Lord Chief Justice
	Chairman, Office of Fair Trading (OFT)
	Chief Executive of Citizens Advice
	Chief Executive of Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC)
	Chairman of National Consumer Council (NCC)
	Chairman of Prudential PLC
	Chairman of Which?
	The Immigration Services Commission
	At a press briefing held on the morning of publication, but before publication time, embargoed copies were made available. The press, legal professions and members of the Consumer Panel (Which?, NCC, EOC, OFT, Citizens Advice, Federation of Small Businesses) were invited.
	Embargoed copies of the draft Coroners Bill were received by the Constitutional Affairs Select Committee and five senior coroners ahead of publication on 12 June 2006.
	The Draft Inquiry Procedure (UK Inquiries) Rules consultation document was received from DCA by ARACS Conference Services (conference organisers) ahead of publication on 1 March 2006. ARACS gave the copies out at a public seminar on public inquiries held after publication. The seminar was attended by around 40 people with knowledge or experience of inquiries, for example, solicitors.

Illegal Immigrants

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many illegal immigrants have been discovered to be employed by her Department in each year since 2001; in what capacities they were employed; how many were discovered as part of a criminal investigation; and what the nature was of the charges brought against them.

Harriet Harman: In the last five years, of those employed in my Department, (excluding agency workers, contractors and consultants) one individual was found, in 2005, to be an illegal immigrant. This individual was employed in a full- time post. He was discovered as the result of an Immigration Officer's investigation into his status. He had provided the correct documentation in obtaining his employment with the Department, but was subsequently found to have made a false statement in order to obtain those documents. He was dismissed immediately.

Immigration Appeals

George Mudie: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many immigration appeals from appellants in Leeds were heard in South Shields in  (a) 2004 and  (b) 2005.

Bridget Prentice: The Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) operates a hearing centre at North Shields. Of the appeals heard at North Shields, in the period April to December 2005, 12 substantive appeals were from appellants with a home address in Leeds postal area.
	It is not possible to break down the substantive appeals by location of the appellant for any period prior to April 2005 without incurring disproportionate cost.

National Identity Card database

Eric Pickles: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment the Government have made of the merits of allowing the National Identity Card database to be used for electoral registration; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: Since its inception in late 2003, expenditure of £1,726,631 has been incurred by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Department of Constitutional Affairs on Phase I of the CORE project-supporting in house system providers and third party vendors so that their electoral registration systems can output electoral register data in an agreed EML format standard.
	A further £23,111.38 has been incurred by the Department of Constitutional Affairs in relation to Phase II of CORE, the implementation of national access arrangements.
	At this stage of the project, estimates are not available for the cost of procuring a CORE information system or associated annual running costs. These will be identified shortly as part of the CORE Phase II development process.

Parliamentary Boundaries

Anthony Steen: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer of22 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1472W, on parliamentary boundaries, when she expects the Committee on Standards in Public Life to publish its review of the functions of the Electoral Commission; and how long after the review is published she expects the Government to decide the timing for transferring responsibility for parliamentary boundaries to the Electoral Commission.

Bridget Prentice: The Committee on Standards in Public Life is independent of the Government and therefore the timing is not a matter for the Government to decide. However, we understand that the Committee aims to complete the review by the "turn of the year". The Government will then consider the recommendations and make a decision as to the timing of the Boundary Commission transfers as soon as possible following publication of the Committee's final report.

Rape/Domestic Violence Cases

Margaret Moran: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  how many rape cases were abandoned by the Crown Prosecution Service because of failure of the  (a) victim and  (b) accused to attend court proceedings in the last period for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many rape cases in  (a) England and Wales and  (b) Bedfordshire were dropped because of witness non-attendance at court proceedings in the last period for which figures are available.

Harriet Harman: In cases listed for trial in the Crown court during the period October 2005 to March 2006 there were eight rape cases where the prosecution ended the case because a witness was absent or withdrawn. There were a further five cases which were adjourned to a later date because a prosecution witness, other than a police officer or expert witness, was absent and an additional 21 cases adjourned because the defendant failed to attend court.
	In England and Wales there were 18 rape cases listed for trial where the trial did not take place through witness non-attendance on the day. Of these eight cases were ended by the prosecution and 10 cases were adjourned and listed for another date. There were none such instances recorded at Luton Crown court in Bedfordshire during this period.
	Figures relating to magistrates court proceedings are not collected centrally and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost to the Department.

Rape/Domestic Violence Cases

Margaret Moran: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the maximum number of court appearances was in  (a) domestic violence and  (b) rape cases after which the case failed to be heard in (i) England and Wales,(ii) Luton and (iii) Bedfordshire over the last five years.

Harriet Harman: This information is not collected centrally and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost to the Department.

Congo

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Hilary Benn: The humanitarian situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is very serious across the country, especially in the eastern provinces of Katanga (particularly North Katanga), North and South Kivu and Province Orientale (especially Ituri district). The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that approximately1.6 million people are internally displaced and over 300,000 are refugees in neighbouring countries.
	Increased conflict in North Katanga since November last year has led to a rise in displacement and this has contributed to a much higher monthly average of new displacements in 2006 compared to 2005, at over 100,000 newly displaced per month compared to 35,000 per month last year. It is hoped that the recent surrender of a Mayi-Mayi commander from that region may lead to greater stability.
	Elsewhere in the East, external armed groups such as the Forces Democratiques de Liberation du Rwanda (FDLR) in the Kivus and other rebels groups operating in Ituri, as well as ill disciplined brigades of the DRC army, are committing abuses such as theft and violence, including high levels of sexual violence, against the civilian population. Operations by the Congolese army against the armed groups, often carried out jointly with MONUC (UN Peacekeeping force in the DRC), are frequently the cause of civilian displacement.
	Mechanisms are in place to get assistance to those who need it quickly, but lack of access due to insecurity and logistical difficulties can lead to delays.
	The UK has strongly supported efforts by the UN to mobilise greater international funding to meet humanitarian needs. DFID has increased UK humanitarian support to the DRC to £60 million over two years. Some other countries have also increased funding, but overall support remains far too low to meet all the needs. The DRC remains a neglected crisis. I have called on my donor counterparts to do more and will continue to keep up the pressure to ensure that funding is forthcoming to meet all the desperate needs in the DRC.

Foreign Travel

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was spent on foreign travel by his Department in each of the last eight years.

Gareth Thomas: Figures for travel costs within administration cost budgets for years which information is readily available are shown in the following table:
	
		
			   £000 
			 2001-02 2,358 
			 2002-03 2,645 
			 2003-04 10,677 
			 2004-05 13,337 
			 2005-06 12,646 
		
	
	The figures for travel reflect all domestic and overseas travel for Ministers, Advisors and Officials and include costs for all travel, accommodation and subsistence. It is not possible to disaggregate costs for Officials' travel overseas without incurring a disproportionate cost. Information for earlier years is not readily available and in some cases will no longer be held.
	In 2003-04, DFID introduced new procedures to draw together administration costs, including those travel costs which had previously been recorded on the programme budget. These changes have increased transparency and have enabled DFID to manage administration costs more effectively. Figures for 2003-04 onwards now include travel costs that were previously funded by country programmes and as a result are not comparable with earlier years.
	Since 1999, the Government have published, on an annual basis, the total costs of all ministerial overseas travel and a list of all visits by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500. This information is available in the Library. Information for the financial year 2004-05 was published on 21 July 2005,  Official Report, column 158WS. Information for the financial year 2005-06 is in the process of being collated and will be published shortly.
	All official travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules contained in DFID's Staff Handbook and complies with the Civil Service Management Code.

Indonesia

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development for how long the UK will provide assistance to the area affected by the recent Indonesian earthquake.

Gareth Thomas: DFID's £5 million contribution towards humanitarian relief is for immediate use(£1 million to the International Federation of the Red Cross/Crescent, £3 million to the UN and £1 million to NGOs).
	We will consider further financial support covering the next two years, based upon requests from the Indonesian Government.

Sierra Leone

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the humanitarian situation in Sierra Leone.

Hilary Benn: The situation in Sierra Leone is stable and the country has made considerable progress since the end of the civil war in 2002. This was confirmed by the withdrawal of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force, UNAMSIL in December 2005. However, considerable challenges remain and the state is fragile. Current threats to continued stability include frustration resulting from large-scale unemployment, particularly among young men, and the weak capacity of government to deliver basic services. Poverty is high, with 70 per cent. estimated to be living below the poverty line. The run-up to the 2007 elections is likely to be a period of increased tension within the country and insecurity in other countries in the region may also present challenges to continued stability.
	Sierra Leone is currently ranked 176 out of 177 on the Human Development Index and continues to have some of the worst health indicators in the world, particularly in terms of maternal and child mortality. Malaria is a major cause of death. There are occasional epidemics of cholera and Lassa fever poses a regional threat in the east of the country.
	There are currently approximately 40,000 refugees in Sierra Leone principally from Liberia. With improved stability in Liberia, many of these have started, or are preparing to go home. Since January 2006, some 9,000 have returned. DFID has supported the care and maintenance of Liberian refugees in camps across the region for some years, and more recently has financed their repatriation from Sierra Leone and other countries. In 2005, £1.1 million was committed for these objectives, and this year, a further £700,000 has been allocated. In addition, DFID has spent over£3.5 million per year for the last three years to help rebuild Liberia and thereby encourage refugees from Sierra Leone and other countries to return home.
	DFID's programme since the end of the war has concentrated on security and rebuilding government institutions and these will remain an important component of the country programme. The programme is currently developing its strategy for the next three years, and as part of this is exploring options for expanding its work in the areas of basic services, economic development and job creation. Through our country-office in Freetown, and from Africa Division's Conflict and Humanitarian Unit in London, we are monitoring the humanitarian situation closely.

Water Access

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to support public-public partnerships as a means of improving access to clean water and sanitation in the developing world.

Hilary Benn: I attach great importance to ensuring increased access to safe water supply and sanitation in the developing world and have recently committed to doubling DFID's expenditure on the provision of these basic services in Africa to £95 million by 2007-08. However, while we recognise the importance of 'public-public' partnerships, our focus is on a pragmatic approach led by our partner countries, to ensure we are doing what works, and recognising that there can be failures of both private and public models.
	In practice, the majority of our work on rural, urban and humanitarian water supply and sanitation services is spent through Governments, not-for-profit or humanitarian agencies (this was around 95 per cent. of our bilateral spend in 2003-04). We are currently actively involved in seven African countries (Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia). In these countries our effort is focused on helping Government and donors deliver more effective water services. We are engaged in sector working groups which aim to promote partnerships (including within the public sector and civil society) that will deliver effective services on the ground and increase access for poor people through better co-ordination at both national and local level.
	I am closely monitoring our progress in water and sanitation and DFID publishes regular updates on our website. The latest update is available on DFID's website at www.dfid.gov.uk

World Bank

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what key proposals he made to the World Bank Spring Meeting; what decisions the Bank took on  (a) these proposals and  (b) other matters; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: Major UK objectives for the World Bank 2006 Spring Meeting were delivery on 2005 commitments, governance and corruption, climate change and clean energy, and the Investment Climate Facility (ICF) for Africa. The Development Committee focused its discussion on two World Bank documents: (i) The Global Monitoring Report (GMR) 2006: Strengthening Mutual Accountability—Aid, Trade and Governance and (ii) Clean Energy and Development: Towards an Investment Framework.
	The GMR sets out clearly the progress that has been made on tackling poverty, and the challenges that remain. We noted that almost all developing countries are off-track to meet at least some of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and the lack of progress in Africa is especially worrying. More aid is clearly essential, and it must be delivered more effectively. We called on the World Bank, other bilateral and multilateral agencies to take action, and ensure that we live up to the commitments made in Paris on aid effectiveness last year, including a country-based approach. The Results and Resources Frameworks, first suggested in the Bank's Africa Action Plan, are a good vehicle for improving mutual accountability and we urged the Bank to develop and implement them quickly. We also called on donors to give more emphasis to assisting the poorest countries, including fragile states and make commitments to increased and long-term resources for education so that developing countries can fully finance their education plans over the long-term.
	The Development Committee agreed that donors should fully implement the commitments they have made for substantial increases in aid volumes, and that the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have a key role in helping countries ensure that increases in aid volumes can be absorbed effectively, consistent with macro-economic stability and growth objectives. Rapid progress was required to implement the framework agreed in the Paris Declaration for enhancing aid effectiveness through a stronger focus on results. Donors need to improve the quality of aid, modalities of aid delivery to reduce volatility, achieve greater predictability, and provide stronger alignment with national poverty reduction strategies. They were encouraged where possible to move towards multi-year plans and commitments, and be ready to finance recurrent costs where sector policies are sound and fiduciary conditions are adequate. The Committee agreed that the World Bank and other partners should improve their coordination at the country level, particularly in strengthening health services and improving access to good quality education, to reduce transaction costs and help increase absorptive capacity. Donors should fill the Education Fast Track Initiative current financing gap and a progress report on Education for All should be submitted to the Annual Meeting in Singapore. The Committee urged the Bank to implement the annual Results and Resources Frameworks.
	The focus of this year's GMR was governance. Prior to the Development Committee, I wrote an article on corruption and participated in a forum on governance and corruption at the Center for Global Development in Washington. At the Committee, I underlined that governance was critical for development and achieving the MDGs, and an essential element of the compact between developing countries, developed countries and international institutions. Only countries themselves can make the decisive changes that are needed. However, donors can help the process of creating more effective states and it is vital that we assist. The proposed Bank framework for monitoring provided a practical and useful starting point, and should be developed further to include aspects such as the extent to which the state responds to the wishes of the people, particularly the poor. We strongly supported the message in the report that corruption is an outcome of poor governance, and caused by a number of failures of national and global systems. It should not be tolerated; but we made clear that our work on tackling corruption needs to get better at addressing the failures, and connect better with the people who have the power and motivation to do something about it. The international community must work collaboratively and take a firm line on the need to tackle and prevent corruption. It must not equate to doing nothing in poor countries where corruption is an issue. Instead, we must find more effective ways of engaging.
	I called on the World Bank to develop a framework for assisting developing countries with their long-term efforts to improve governance, and tackle corruption where it needs addressing. The framework will need to include how we can best ensure that aid is used for the purpose for which it was intended. This will include strong, independent units to detect and investigate fraud; strengthening national financial and accountability systems more effectively; and how to address the corruption that comes from beyond national borders, including developing global initiatives, such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. We urged the World Bank to consult widely in taking forward this work, recognising that addressing governance failures will require action from all parts of the international community, not only from developing countries. It is essential that the framework commands broad support.
	The Development Committee endorsed these views and the main messages of the report. It called on the World Bank to develop and submit to the Annual Meetings in Singapore a broad strategy for helping member countries strengthen governance and deepen the fight against corruption, with clear guidelines for World Bank operations.
	On clean energy and development, I made clear that the effects of climate change are already being felt in many developing countries and will seriously impact our global efforts to reduce poverty and meet the MDGs. Responsibility for mitigating climate change requires, urgent action on the part of richer countries, while some fast-growing middle-income countries must shift to cleaner, more efficient energy production to avoid exacerbating the problem. Meanwhile, developing countries need access to affordable, reliable and clean energy to grow their economies and to lift people out of poverty. We urged the international community to act now to support countries to do this in a sustainable way and so achieve a double-dividend of poverty reduction and environmental protection. Helping member countries meet these challenges should be a key objective of the World Bank and other multilateral development banks over the coming years.
	We welcomed the valuable work undertaken already in the World Bank to develop an investment framework to accelerate investment in clean energy, energy efficiency and adaptation to climate change. This now needs to be developed further into an ambitious global investment framework based on sound analysis of existing financial resources and identification of gaps where new instruments are needed. We urged the World Bank to work closely with the multilateral development banks, private sector and civil society to create a global joint investment framework to be presented at the Annual Meetings in Singapore. The Development Committee endorsed the importance of this work and asked the Bank to submit a report on progress towards an investment framework in September.
	In the margins of the Spring Meetings, I co-hosted with President Wolfowitz, a meeting to raise awareness among donors and African countries of the Investment Climate Facility for Africa. African governments and institutions know that creating the right environment in which people and firms feel comfortable investing their money is crucial for Africa's prosperity. If Africa is to achieve the growth necessary to meet the MDGs, the business environment must improve significantly. Boosting African growth and poverty reduction is, ultimately, what the ICF is all about. I urged donors to co-fund the ICF and cooperate operationally so that it can add value and truly be complementary to existing work. African participants welcomed the formation of the ICF with its strong African ownership. Donors (including the International Finance Corporation and the European Commission) and companies have also responded positively and the ICF was launched in Africa on 1 June.

Historical Inquiry Team

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of the Historical Inquiry Team's (HIT) budget has been set aside to investigate the murder of Robert and Thomas Dobson in Moy on 16 May 1976; and if he will make a statement on the HIT's investigation into this case.

Paul Goggins: The Government have committed a total of £34 million, over six years, to the Unresolved Deaths project. Of this amount, the Historical Enquiry Team (HET) has been allocated £24.2 million to review unresolved deaths relating to the security situation in Northern Ireland from 1968 to April 1998, and assist in bringing resolution for the families of victims affected by these deaths.
	The HET have confirmed that the deaths of Robert and Thomas Dobson will come within their remit. Of the funding provided to the HET, there is no set amount allocated for each case. Spend on individual cases will not be known until the review of such cases is taken forward, as this depends on what work is required to be done and if any new evidential opportunities exist.

Housing Stock

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what housing stock is held by the Housing Executive in  (a) each Belfast district and  (b) Castlereagh district; and how many houses have been sold in each area in the last 10 years.

David Hanson: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			  Housing Executive District Office  Stock at31 March 2006  House sales completed from the financial year ending 1996-1997 to end of May 2006 
			 Belfast 1 2,146 1,486 
			 Belfast 2 3,676 1,298 
			 Belfast 3 3,215 1,726 
			 Belfast 4 3,643 1,193 
			 Belfast 5 3,694 811 
			 Belfast 6 3,256 1,009 
			 Belfast 7 4,119 1,457 
			 Castlereagh 3,919 1,673

Toxic Sludge

Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer of 1 March 2006,  Official Report, column 786W, on toxic sludge, to which local government authority areas the four prosecution cases by the Environment and Heritage Service relate.

David Cairns: Environment and Heritage Service is investigating four incidents involving spreading of sludges to land in breach of regulations. The council areas to which these relate are Moyle, Londonderry, Lisburn and Craigavon.

Practice-based Commissioning

Andrew MacKay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the development of practice-based commissioning.

Patricia Hewitt: All primary care trusts (PCTs) have committed to putting in place the arrangements to support practice-based commissioning (PBC) by the end of December this year. The most recent data indicates that 27 per cent. of PCTs have already put these arrangements in place, and that 41 per cent. of practices have taken on PBC.

Retinal Screening (Diabetics)

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what targets have been set for retinal screening for diabetes; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The priorities and planning framework includes targets that by 2006, 80 per cent. of people with diabetes should be offered diabetic retinopathy screening rising to 100 per cent. by endof 2007.
	Data shows that, in March 2006, 78.4 per cent. of people with diabetes had been offered screening for diabetic retinopathy in the previous year.

Hospital Cleanliness (West Midlands)

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress is being made in improving hospital cleanliness in the West Midlands.

Rosie Winterton: Hospital cleanliness is measured annually as part of the patient environment action team (PEAT) assessment. The first inspections in 2000 found around one third of national health service trusts to have poor or unacceptable standards?since then there has been a steady improvement and in 2004-05, fewer than 5 per cent. were classified as poor or unacceptable. The latest PEAT inspections have recently been completed, and the results will be published in due course. However the PEAT scores published in 2004 and 2005 show improved rates of cleanliness in the hospital sites across the strategic health authority areas in the West Midlands.

Breast Cancer Treatment

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the most recent average waiting time was for breast cancer treatment in York; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The Department does not collect average waiting times for breast cancer treatment. However, the latest data available for the York hospitals NHS trust shows that in Quarter 4 2005-06 the trust achieved 100 per cent. of the two week out-patient wait for urgent referrals target and 100 per cent. of the maximum one month wait from diagnosis (decision to treat) to first definitive treatment target. The trust achieved 95.8 per cent. against the62 day target for urgent general practitioner referral for suspected cancer to treatment for breast cancer in the same period.

Graduate Unemployment

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent estimate she has made ofgraduate unemployment among  (a) nurses and  (b) physiotherapists.

Rosie Winterton: The Department does not collect this information. The Higher Education Statistics Agency conducts a sample survey of graduates. Of those who responded for the year to31 July 2004, 90 per cent. of nursing and midwifery graduates and 84 per cent. of physiotherapy graduates were employed in their chosen profession. The remainder were employed elsewhere, unemployed or did not answer the question.

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how much the national health service has given to the British Pregnancy Advisory Service to undertake abortions in each of the last five years for which figures are available, broken down by region;
	(2)  how many complaints were made to  (a) her Department and  (b) the national health service about the British Pregnancy Advisory Service in each of the last five years;
	(3)  how many early medical abortions were performed by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service at the request of the national health service in each of the last five years, broken down by  (a) age of the woman,  (b) gestation of the pregnancy and  (c) region;
	(4)  how many women were referred by national health service GPs to the British Pregnancy Advisory Service for an abortion in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and what the  (a) age of the woman,  (b) gestation of the pregnancy and  (c) region of residence was in each case.

Caroline Flint: I refer the hon. Member to the answer the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health gave to the hon. Member for Belfast, North (Mr. Dodds) on 18 March 2005,  Official Report, column 522W, about the amount of national health service funding given to British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS).
	The Department has received a couple of complaints during the last five years which were investigated. Information on complaints received by the NHS is not held centrally. Under the Care Standards Act 2000, BPAS is required to supply each patient with a written copy of its complaints procedure, fully investigate each complaint and maintain a detailed, written record of each complaint. BPAS is also required to send the Healthcare Commission a statement every year with a summary of the complaints received. In addition, the Healthcare Commission look at these records as part of a clinic inspection.
	The information requested on the number of NHS funded early medical abortions performed by BPAS is shown in the table. Information is not held centrally on the number of women referred to BPAS by NHS general practitioners; the abortion notification form collects the names and addresses of the two registered medical practitioners who authorised the abortion under the Abortion Act.
	
		
			  Total NHS funded medical abortions performed under nine weeks gestation by the BPAS, England, 2000-04 
			   2000  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			  Age  
			 Under 18 14 31 88 107 142 
			 18 11 17 61 76 129 
			 19 13 39 67 83 152 
			 20 19 23 64 85 161 
			 21 18 46 69 105 148 
			 22 14 42 88 106 145 
			 23 18 39 85 99 161 
			 24 17 25 76 103 161 
			 25 16 23 54 70 143 
			 26 13 29 55 75 124 
			 27 10 27 52 69 140 
			 28 15 32 46 60 108 
			 29 13 23 43 72 106 
			 30 11 18 67 71 99 
			 31 (1)— 27 48 47 95 
			 32 10 25 33 54 89 
			 33 11 22 29 56 80 
			 34 (1)— 16 41 43 73 
			 35 and over 35 99 186 255 427 
			 Total 269 603 1,252 1,636 2,683 
			   
			  Gestation weeks  
			 5 and under 26 43 68 134 245 
			 6 73 162 303 465 717 
			 7 93 234 529 585 1,012 
			 8 77 164 352 452 709 
			 Total 269 603 1,252 1,636 2,683 
			   
			  Region of woman's residence  
			 East (1)— 12 17 43 (1)— 
			 East Midlands (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 78 
			 London 45 128 249 362 582 
			 North West 22 26 52 74 (1)— 
			 North East (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 97 
			 South East 132 285 409 507 913 
			 South West 20 36 44 85 192 
			 West Midlands 27 97 376 348 597 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 17 14 83 173 171 
			 Total 269 603 1,252 1,636 2,683 
			 (1) Totals less than 10 (0-9 cases) are suppressed. This is in line with the Office for National Statistics' guidance on the disclosure of abortion statistics, 2005.

Carers' Grant

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  in what circumstances a local authority may refuse to pay carers' grant to  (a) individuals and  (b) organisations supporting carers;
	(2)  whether local authorities are permitted to use the carers' grant to support the provision of day centres;
	(3)  whether she plans to extend carers' grant beyond 2008;
	(4)  what funding is planned to help with the provision of respite care;
	(5)  what options are available to individuals for the use they make of carers' grant; and what role local authorities play in ensuring choice is available.

Ivan Lewis: This Government introduced the carers grant in 1999 to support councils in providing breaks and other services for carers in England. The grant is not paid to individuals but paid each year to councils as a specific formula grant.
	Councils can use the grant to provide a range of services for carers in their area depending on local demand and need. This may include commissioning day care services if this is what is needed locally. Councils will want to ensure that the services they commission provide good quality services that will meet carers' assessed needs. Councils should ensure that individuals have as much choice as possible about the services they are offered.
	Ministers have yet to decide whether the carers grant will continue after March 2008.
	Local councils can use the carers grant to provide short breaks for carers as well as a range of other services to support them. The grant in 2006-07 is£185 million. In addition, in our health and social care White Paper "Our health, our care, our say" we commit to ensure that short-term, home-based respite support is established for carers in crisis or emergency situations.

Debt Collectors

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of Statefor Health whether  (a) her Department and  (b) its(i) executive agencies and (ii) non-departmental public bodies use the services of private debt collectors.

Ivan Lewis: As most debtors of the Department and its executive agencies are other public bodies it is not deemed appropriate to use a debt collection agency. Information relating to non-departmental bodies is not held centrally.

Dentistry

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department hasmade of the oral health of the population in (a) Peterborough constituency,  (b) the East of England and  (c) England.

Andy Burnham: The information available centrally shows that in 2003-04 the average number of decayed, missing or filled teeth among five-year-olds in the area of North Peterborough primary care trust is 1.78. This compares with 0.9 in South Peterborough, 1.21 in the Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire strategic health authority area and 1.49 in England as a whole. People living in some parts of Eastern England receive the benefits to oral health from a seam of naturally occurring fluoride in water which runs from Hartlepool in Durham to Chelmsford in Essex. Peterborough however does not receive either natural or artificially fluoridated water.

Dentistry

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has in place for the inspection of dental laboratories located in (a) China,  (b) Turkey,  (c) India and  (d) South Africa which manufacture dental appliances for use inthe UK.

Andy Burnham: The manufacturer of any custom made dental appliance should ensure that it complies with the requirements of the Medical Devices Regulations before placing the device on the United Kingdom (UK) market. Where the manufacturer is based outside the European Community this would include appointing an authorised representative to register on their behalf with the member state competent authority where they have their registered place of business. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency conducts an annual programme of inspections of custom-made appliance manufacturers and authorised representatives based in the UK selected at random.

Departmental Chief Accounting Officer

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) name,  (b) professional and academic qualifications and  (c) relevant experience are of the chief accounting officer of her Department.

Ivan Lewis: As Acting Permanent Secretary, Hugh Taylor is the Principal Accounting Officer for the Department.
	Before becoming Acting Permanent Secretary, he was the Department's strategy and business development group director. He previously held senior management jobs in the Prison Service, the Cabinet Office and was director for national health service work force in the NHS executive.
	Accounting officer is a role that the permanent secretary combines with his personal responsibility for the overall organisation, management and staffing of the Department and for Department-wide procedures in financial and other matters. The accounting officer is assisted in the discharge of these duties by suitably qualified and experienced senior managers, such as Richard Douglas, the director-general of Finance and Investment.

Drug Trials

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will take steps to ensure that in human trials of medicinal drugs not previously ingested by human beings the drugs are not to be ingested simultaneously by the volunteers.

Andy Burnham: Following the recent drug trial incident involving TGN 1412, an expert working group of leading international experts was established to address the scientific questions that were raised by it. In particular, recommendations we requested regarding this type of drug and how to manage the risks associated with making the transition from pre-clinical testing in animals to trials in humans.
	Professor Gordon Duff, who is Professor of Molecular Medicine at Sheffield University has been appointed to act as chair of the group.
	On receipt of the report from this group, the Government will consider what steps might be required to minimise risk for first human trials in the light of their recommendations.

Gershon Review

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 2 May 2006,  Official Report, column 1540W, on the Gershon Review, to the hon. Member for Mid-Sussex(Mr. Soames), if she will break down the savings by main budget heading.

Ivan Lewis: The total savings to December 2005 break down as follows:
	
		
			   Amount (£ million) 
			 Productive time 879 
			 Procurement 1,048 
			 Corporate services 36 
			 Social care 179 
			 Policy funding and regulation 63 
			 Total 2,205 
		
	
	These figures were set out in the Department's report published in May 2006.

Head Injuries

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how payment by results will affect the commissioning and delivery of services for those with a serious head injury;
	(2)  what steps have been taken to implement the recommendations in the Health Committee's Report of Session 2000-01, on Head Injuries: Rehabilitation, in relation to  (a) improving data collection on the incidence, prevalence and severity of head injuries, (b) facilitating the planning of services for those with a head injury,  (c) making explicit the level at which planning for serious head injury rehabilitation should be located and  (d) commissioning and delivery of specialist services.

Ivan Lewis: In our response to the Committee (CM 5226, July 2001) the Government undertook to take their recommendations into account in drawing-up the national service framework for long-term neurological conditions (NSF), and subsequently did so. The NSF was published last year are we are now working with stakeholders to implement it.
	It is the responsibility of local professionals to commission services to meet the current and forecast needs of the people they serve.
	Under payment by results, money follows patients and so providers are rewarded for the number and complexity of cases they treat, and incentivised to provide high quality care.

Health Treatment Centres

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with which independent treatment centres the NHS holds contracts; what type of treatment was contracted for in each case in the most recent year for which figures are available; how many episodes of treatment were contracted for in each case in that year; which NHS body holds the contract; which primary care trusts are covered by the contract; whether a(i) Wave 1, (ii) Wave 2 and (iii) other type of contract applies; and what the (A) name and (B) legal status is of the proprietor of each centre.

Ivan Lewis: Information is not held centrally on spot purchased activity from the independent sector by local commissioners. Details of the first wave of independent sector treatment centre (ISTC) contracts have been placed in the Library. All wave one ISTC contracts have been entered into with companies registered in England and Wales.
	No contracts have been finalised for phase two of the procurement for additional elective and diagnostic activity or the extended choice network of independent providers.

Information Technology

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) originally estimated,  (b) most recently estimated and  (c) outturn cost was in each of the five largest information technology contracts agreed with outside suppliers over the last five years.

Caroline Flint: The information provided pertains to the central Department and does not cover executive agencies, other arm's length bodies or NHS Connecting for Health.
	The five largest information technology (IT) contracts agreed with outside suppliers over the last five years are:
	 The information management services agreement-Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC)
	The annual support charge for the CSC agreement has fluctuated from the initial estimated charge but this has been a reflection of the introduction of new services, for example, new remote working facilities, wireless connectivity services and new collaborative tools. Ongoing charges over five years are as follows:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2002-03 7.65 
			 2003-04 8.85 
			 2004-05 8.77 
			 2005-06 7.47 
			 2006-07 (1)7.60 
			 (1) Forecast charges. 
		
	
	Transformation of the infrastructure formed a separate part of the agreement. The original estimate was £9.1 million. The estimate was revised to£12.6 million to include the cost of commissioning and implementing the new services. The outturn cost was £12.6 million.
	A total of £88.42 million has been spent with CSC over the five years since the contract was let. The support charges and transformation form part of that figure. The remainder has included expenditure which CSC administer on behalf of the Department, for example BT costs for the wide area network and business ports, and audio conferencing and mobile telephone costs. The remainder of the costs over the five years have been apportioned to project work in support of the integrity and resilience of the infrastructure in line with changing technologies. These project and pass through costs are listed as follows.
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2002-03 12.88 
			 2003-04 18.32 
			 2004-05 20.06 
			 2005-06 21.82 
			 2006-07 (1)21 
			 (1) Forecast charges. £2.72 million invoiced so far. 
		
	
	 Finance system agreement-Cap Gemini
	The original estimate for the project was£6.1 million. The revised estimate and actual cost was £5.6 million.
	 Corporate software agreement-IBM
	The agreement was for a three year deal with three annual payments totalling £1.4 million. The original estimate and actual costs were the same.
	 Web content management service-Xansa
	This contract was awarded early in 2006 and the estimated costs over the next five years are£5.11 million. The outturn is expected to remain the same as the estimated costs.
	 External applications hosting-BT
	This annually renewable contract was for a hosting provision designed to be scaleable to meet the requirements of the Department. The charges represent the fluctuation in these requirements. The annual charges were:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2002-03 0.306 
			 2003-04 0.5 
			 2004-05 0.374 
			 2005-06 0.3 
			 2006-07 0.3

Measles

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of measles there were in England in each year since 1997; and what the percentage uptake of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine was in each year since 1988 in  (a) England and  (b) each region.

Caroline Flint: Laboratory confirmed cases of measles in England and Wales between 1996 and 2005 are available on the Health Protection Agency's (HPA) website at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/measles/data_mmr_confirmed.htm
	On the 15 June 2006, the HPA reported that they had received reports of 449 confirmed cases of measles in England and Wales in the period January to May 2006. Further information is available at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/hpa/news/articles/press_releases/2006/060615_measles.htm
	Annual England data for years 1997 to 2005 is available from NHS Immunisation Statistics on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/Statistics/StatisticalWorkArea

Mental Health/Learning Disabilities

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she  (a) has taken and  (b) plans to take to promote the protection of people with(i) mental health problems and (ii) learning disabilities (A) at work and (B) in residential care settings.

Ivan Lewis: Less than one in four people experiencing long-term mental health problems is in employment, and one third of those in employment report having been dismissed or forced to resign. There is evidence that better access to psychological treatment can help people to return to or maintain employment.
	The Government are committed to improving access to evidence-based psychological therapies, and this policy was set out in the Labour manifesto 2005 and the "Our Health, our care, our say White Paper. Our Improving Access to Psychological Therapies" programme forms a key part of the Government's "Health, Work and Well-Being—Caring for Our Future" (HWWB) strategy, which the Department launched last October with the Department for Work and Pensions and the Health and Safety Commission.
	The Department is not responsible for the protection of people with learning disabilities at work. However, people with mental health problems and learning disabilities are protected by all employment legislation, for example that governing freedom from discrimination and equal opportunities. In addition, "The Duty to Promote Disability Equality statutory code of practice in England and Wales", published by the Disability Rights Commission in December 2005, includes mental illness and learning disabilities.
	There are a wide range of measures to protect vulnerable people in regulated social care, including those with mental health problems and learning disabilities. We have set out standards for care and treatment for the national health service and social care services in the national service framework for mental health and the White Paper, "Valuing People: a new strategy for learning disability".
	We have introduced national minimum standards for care homes, domiciliary care and adult placements to ensure that vulnerable people can live in a safe environment, where their rights and dignity are respected and staff are properly trained. The regulator, the Commission for Social Care Inspection, has powers to take swift and decisive action where abuse occurs, by serving enforcement notices on care homes and domiciliary care providers and, ultimately, it can close services down.
	"No Secrets", statutory guidance issued under section 7 of the 1970 Local Authorities Social Services Act by the Department in 2000, provides a complete definition of abuse and a framework for councils to work with the police, the NHS and regulators to tackle abuse and prevent it from occurring.
	We introduced the protection of vulnerable adults (PoVA) scheme in July 2004. PoVA prevents dangerous or unscrupulous people from gaining access to vulnerable people in care homes or being cared for in their own homes. The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill was introduced in Parliament on 28 February 2006. The new scheme will build on the existing PoVA scheme and will make it far more difficult forabusers to gain access to some of the most vulnerable groups in society. Subject to the necessary legislation being passed by Parliament, it will begin staged implementation in 2007.

NHS Treatment

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) elective hospital admissions,  (b) first out-patient attendances following general practitioner referral and  (c) consultant-led first out-patient attendances there were in the NHS in each year between 1990-91 and 2005-06.

Andy Burnham: Data from 1996-97 onwards is shown in the table. Data for the earlier years is not available on the same basis.
	
		
			  Thousand 
			   Elective hospital admissions( 1)  First out-patient (OP) attendances following general practitioner referral( 2)  Consultant-led first OP attendances( 3) 
			 1996-97 4,364 7,565 11,294 
			 1997-98 4,450 7,609 11,529 
			 1998-99 4,869 7,533 11,778 
			 1999-2000 4,934 7,710 12,136 
			 2000-01 5,045 7,938 12,466 
			 2001-02 5,080 8,016 12,613 
			 2002-03 5,308 8,073 12,879 
			 2003-04 5,492 8,086 13,431 
			 2004-05 5,607 7,980 13,370 
			 2005-06 5,691 8,118 13,727 
			  Sources:(1) Heath Authority Monitoring and Monthly Monitoring, commissioner-based.(2) QM08, provider-based.(3) KH09, QMOP and QM08, provider-based.

Primary Care Trusts

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been generated by the top-slicing of3 per cent. of London's primary care trust budgets; where this top-sliced income is being held; what decisions have been taken on the use of the fund; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: A reduction to London primary care trusts (PCT) 2006-07 revenue allocations of 3 per cent. would amount to around £320 million. Reserves generated to manage the overall financial position are currently being held by strategic health authorities (SHAs). The final amounts and terms for the use of the reserves will be for local agreement between the SHA and PCTs, within a framework agreed with the Department.

Radon Gas

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are in place to protect citizens from the effects of radon gas.

Caroline Flint: The National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) first offered advice to the Government on the exposure to radon in dwellings in early 1987. (In 2005 the NRPB merged with the Health Protection Agency, becoming its radiation protection division.)
	This advice was updated and expanded in 1990 in a statement and supporting document on the limitation of human exposure to radon in homes (reference NRPB. Human exposure to radon in homes. Doc. NRPB. 1, No. 1, 17-32 (1990)). Central to the control strategy is a recommendation that radon concentrations at or above an action level should be reduced to as low as reasonably practicable. In areas with a high risk of elevated radon concentrations, the radon concentration in existing homes should be measured and reduced as appropriate and new homes built with protective measures against radon.
	Legislation under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 means that in places of work the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999 come into effect if radon is present above a defined level and then employers are required to take action to restrict resulting exposures.

Royal Assent

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list those  (a) Acts and  (b) parts of Acts which received Royal Assent between 1976 and 2006 and for which her Department has policy responsibility which remain in force.

Ivan Lewis: Acts for which the Department retains full or part policy responsibility have been passed since 1976 and were in force as of 31 December 2005 are as follows:
	NHS Act 1977;
	Public Health Laboratory Service 1979;
	Health Services Act 1980;
	Mental Health (Amendment) Act 1982;
	Mental Health Act 1983;
	Health and Social Services and Social Security Adjudications Act 1983;
	Medical Act 1983;
	Anatomy Act 1984;
	Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984;
	Dentists Act 1984;
	Health and Social Security Act 1984;
	Hospital Complaints Procedure Act 1985;
	Surrogacy Arrangements Act 1985;
	Corneal Tissue Act 1986;
	Protection of Children (Tobacco) Act 1986;
	National Health Service (Amendment) Act 1986;
	AIDS (Control) Act 1987;
	Parliamentary and Health Services Commissioners Act 1987;
	Community Health Council (Access to Information)Act 1988;
	Access to Medical Reports Act 1988;
	Health and Medicines Act 1988;
	Hearing Aid Council (Amendment) Act 1989;
	Human Organs Transplants Act 1989;
	Opticians Act 1989;
	Food Safety Act 1990;
	Greenwich Hospital Act 1990;
	National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990;
	Access to Health Records Act 1990;
	Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990;
	Children and Young Persons (Protection from Tobacco)Act 1991;
	Medical Qualifications (Amendment) Act 1991;
	Medicinal Products: Prescription by Nurses etc Act 1992;
	Community Care (Residential Accommodation) Act 1992;
	Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Disclosure of Information) Act 1992;
	Health Service Commissioners Act 1993;
	Osteopaths Act 1993;
	Chiropractors Act 1994;
	Mental Health (Amendment) Act 1994;
	Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995;
	Health Authorities Act 1995;
	National Health Service (Amendment) Act 1995;
	Medical (Professional Performance) Act 1995;
	Mental Health (Patients in the Community) 1995;
	Health Service Commissioners (Amendment) Act 1996;
	National Health Services (Residual Liabilities) Act 1996;
	National Health Service (Primary Care ) Act 1997;
	National Health Service (Private Finance) Act 1997;
	Community Care (Residential Accommodation) Act 1998;
	Food Standards Act 1999;
	Health Act 1999;
	The Road Traffic (NHS Charges) Act 1999;
	Care Standards Act 2000;
	Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000;
	Health Service Commissioners (Amendment) Act 2000;
	Health and Social Care Act 2001;
	Human Reproductive Cloning Act 2001;
	National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act 2002;
	Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002;
	Community Care (Delayed Discharges) Act 2003;
	Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Deceased Fathers)Act 2003;
	Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003;
	Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004;
	Health Protection Agency Act 2004; and
	Human Tissue Act 2004;

Summary/Detailed Care Records

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information will be held on an individual's  (a) summary care record and  (b) detailed care record.

Caroline Flint: In the future, each person using the national health service will have a personal electronic NHS care record which can be quickly accessed by health care professionals legitimately involved in the persons care. It will be made up of detailed care records and a summary care record.
	Detailed care records will be built up over time into a detailed health and care history.
	Patients will also have a summary care record. Initially this is likely to be limited to more basic information such as allergies, adverse reactions to medications, and current prescriptions but over time more information will be added about current health conditions and treatment. Departmental officials are in discussion with representatives of the medical professions of patients and the public about the scope and implementation of the summary care record. This work will be accelerated by the new taskforce.
	Strict controls will be in place for both the detailed and summary care records so that only those people involved in the care of the patient will have access to patient information appropriate to their role.
	People's consent to share and ability to limit the sharing of their care record is covered by the NHS care record guarantee.

Vulnerable Adults

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on plans to place on a statutory footing the 'No Secrets' guidelines for developing a multi-agency framework for prevention and investigation of abuse of vulnerable adults.

Ivan Lewis: The Government regard abuse of vulnerable and older people as unacceptable in all its forms and is determined to root it out.
	'No Secrets', published by the Department in 2000, provides a complete definition of abuse and a framework for councils to work with the police, the national health service and regulators to tackle abuse and prevent it from occurring. 'No Secrets' is statutory guidance, issued under section 7 of the 1970 Local Authorities Social Services Act; local authorities must have regard to it.
	I am informed by the Commission for SocialCare Inspection that 145 out of 150 localitieshave established adult protection committees, as recommended in the guidance, which demonstrates that councils are taking their responsibilities to tackle and prevent abuse seriously.

Waiting Times

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) mean and  (b) median wait was for a (i) out-patient and (ii) in-patient appointment in (A) 1979, (B) 1997 and (C) the most recent period for which figures are available.

Ivan Lewis: The mean and median waits for in-patient admission and first out-patient appointment in 1997 and 2006 are shown the following table. It is not possible to calculate mean or medians for 1979 as data was not collected in sufficient detail at that time.
	
		
			  Average waiting time for elective in-patient admission 
			  Weeks 
			  Period ending  Median wait  Mean wait 
			 March 1979 n/a n/a 
			 March 1997 13.2 18.1 
			 March 2006 7.3 8.7 
			 April 2006 7.6 8.9 
			  Source: Department of Health QF01 
		
	
	
		
			  Average waiting time for a first out-patient appointment from a general practitioner referral to a consultant 
			  Weeks 
			  Quarter ended  Median wait  Mean wait 
			 March 1979 n/a n/a 
			 June 1997 6.3 9.0 
			 March 2006 6.1 6.5 
			  Note: In-patient figures are available monthly, hence figures quoted for April 200 6 Source:Department of Health QM08R

Commercial Recycling

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  whether he plans to extend his Department's grants to cover commercial recycling;
	(2)  what mechanisms he plans to help small and medium sized businesses recycle their waste products.

Ben Bradshaw: The recent consultation on the review of England's Waste Strategy puts forward proposals for a greater emphasis on the recycling of commercial and industrial waste. This includes a wider role for local authorities in fostering better recycling services for small businesses, better integration of municipal and business waste management, and the further development of markets for recycled materials. The consultation also asked for views on how best the Government can support small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) in overcoming the barriers they face in recycling their waste.
	Responses to the consultation, which closed on9 May 2006, are being carefully considered during the development of a revised waste strategy—due to be published later this year.
	In addition, the recently created Waste Infrastructure Development Programme is considering how to encourage local authorities to allow for appropriate, larger facilities that can serve the non-municipal sector.
	The Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) Programme also plays a key role in reducing the amount of commercial waste sent to landfill—returning £284 million to businesses over three years through resource efficiency and waste minimisation programmes.
	The Waste and Resource Action Programme (WRAP) has set up a pilot project providing sector-specific help for small businesses, and the Environment Agency (EA) is developing a pilot internet service called 'What do I do with my waste?'. This will work as an extension to the EA's existing guidance service for SMEs, 'NetRegs', which includes guidance on waste issues.

Recycling

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what standards the Government plans to introduce for operators recycling televisions and computer monitors containing cathode ray tubes.

Ben Bradshaw: The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive aims to minimise WEEE arisings and to encourage reuse, recycling and recovery.
	Article 6(1) and annex II of the Directive introduce requirements for the treatment of collected items of WEEE to remove certain substances, preparations and components. The aim is to avoid the dispersion of pollutants into any recycled material or the waste stream. Cathode ray tubes (including their fluorescent coating) are among the substances that have to be removed.
	This type of treatment will be subject to waste management licencing to ensure the protection of the environment and human health. We will publish guidance on how to comply with these requirements for those involved with the treatment of WEEE once regulations are made to transpose these provisions.

Waste and Resources Action Programme

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs by what mechanism the Waste and Resources Action Programme Real Nappy Scheme is audited.

Ben Bradshaw: The Real Nappy Scheme is funded through the Waste Implementation Programme (WIP) and run by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP). WRAP publishes an annual report, which lists the achievements of each of its programmes. WRAP'S accounts are audited on an annual basis by their own auditors, like any other company, and the Real Nappy Programme is considered as part of that process. In addition, the National Audit Office (NAO) is carrying out an investigation into reducing the reliance on landfill in England. As part of that process, they have considered the impact of WIP including the Real Nappy Programme. It is expected that the finalised NAO report will be available later this summer.

Water Extraction

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much water has been abstracted from the river  (a) Lugg,  (b) Arrow and  (c) Wye in each month since January 2004.

Ian Pearson: The Environment Agency has provided the following information which is taken from data received from licence holders who are authorised to abstract water from the rivers Arrow, Lugg and Wye. The data covers the period 2004 and 2005.
	The information does not include any data declared as commercially confidential.
	
		
			  River Lugg 
			  Cubic metres 
			   2004  2005 
			 January 445,182 429,002 
			 February 392,922 410,636 
			 March 430,350 430,892 
			 April 417,979 405,629 
			 May 510,077 465,109 
			 June 469,213 197,099 
			 July 499,943 251,026 
			 August 442,533 180,490 
			 September 428,585 845,724 
			 October 483,706 493,262 
			 November 429,688 430,440 
			 December 494,898 497,852 
			 Total 5,445,076 5,037,161 
		
	
	
		
			  River Arrow 
			  Cubic metres 
			   2004  2005 
			 January 4,900 — 
			 February 4,900 — 
			 March 4,900 — 
			 April 4,900 — 
			 May 5,266 — 
			 June 9,858 2,906 
			 July 11,993 5,475 
			 August 991 1,300 
			 September 4,900 — 
			 October 4,900 — 
			 November 4,900 — 
			 December 4,900 — 
			 Total 67,308 9,681 
		
	
	
		
			  River Wye 
			  Cubic metres 
			   2004  2005 
			 January 2,824,006 2,418,956 
			 February 2,572,504 1,827,142 
			 March 2,674,162 11,516,887 
			 April 2,581,641 2,540,052 
			 May 2,391,498 3,035,505 
			 June 3,340,550 3,458,862 
			 July 3,509,541 4,075,843 
			 August 3,326,877 2,980,020 
			 September 3,294,570 2,746,270 
			 October 2,702,291 2,707,629 
			 November 2,455,457 2,716,335 
			 December 3,583,783 2,559,602 
			 Total 35,256,880 42,583,103

Antisocial Behaviour

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures to tackle antisocial behaviour have been introduced by his Department since 1997; and what the take-up for each measure has been to date in  (a) Dudley and  (b) the West Midlands.

Tony McNulty: Building and enforcing a modern culture of respect and tackling antisocial behaviour is a priority for the Government. On 10 January the Government published the Respect Action Plan. The plan is central to the Government's drive to step up and broaden the clampdown on antisocial behaviour and to promote good behaviour.
	Prior to this the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 put in place a range of measures to tackle antisocial behaviour and gave local agencies the tools they need to tackle antisocial behaviour on the ground. Key measures in the Act include:
	Powers to close premises where drugs are used unlawfully.
	Powers enabling social landlords to take action against antisocial tenants.
	A package of support and sanctions to enable parents to prevent and tackle antisocial behaviour among children.
	Powers to allow police officers to disperse groups of people who are causing nuisance or intimidating others.
	Powers for environmental health officers to close noisy premises.
	Powers to tackle graffiti and fly-posting.
	The Housing Act 2004, also contained important measures to enable landlords to tackle antisocial behaviour. A survey of Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships and Community Safety Partnerships in England and Wales in 2005 found that:
	514 crack house closure orders were made between January 2004 and September 2005;
	809 areas were designated as dispersal areas between January 2004 and June 2005;
	2,369 parenting contracts and orders were made between October 2003 and September 2005;
	13,478 acceptable behaviour contracts were made between October 2003 and September 2005.
	Antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) were introduced under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and have been available since April 1999. In Dudley 30 ASBOs have been issued between April 1999 and September 2005. 552 ASBOs have been issue in the West Midlands during the same period.

Building Safer Communities Fund

Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding from the Building Safer Communities Fund has been allocated to  (a) Leeds city council and  (b) the basic command units of West Yorkshire Police within the Leeds city council district in each of the last three years.

Tony McNulty: The information is as follows:
	 (a) The Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) in Leeds City Council received a total of 3,987,656 under the Building Safer Communities Fund over the last three financial years, broken down as follows 2003-04 £1,307,428, 2004-05, £1,340,114, 2005-06 £1,340,114.
	 (b) The Basic Command Unit of City and Holbeck within the West Yorkshire Police force has received a total of £1,111,170 under the Basic Command Unit (BCU) Fund over the last three financial years, broken down as follows: 2003-04 £370,390, 2004-05 £370,390, 2005-06 £370,390.

Correspondence

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will reply to the letter of2 May 2006 from the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend, East to the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State regarding his constituentMrs. P. Day of Southend-on Sea.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 16 June 2006
	I can confirm that I will be writing to the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend, East.

Domestic Violence

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many domestic violence incidents dealt with by police in  (a) England and Wales,  (b) Luton and  (c) Bedfordshire in the last five years involved (i) repeat victims and (ii) repeat visits to the same address.

Tony McNulty: Data for the number of reported incidents of domestic violence that involved victims of a reported domestic violence incident in the previous 12 months are available from 2002-03 for Luton and Bedfordshire and given in the following table. Data is not available for England and Wales as a whole. Information on repeat visits to the same address is not collected centrally.
	
		
			  Number of reported incidents of domestic violence that involved victims of a reported domestic violence incident in the previous 12 months 
			   Luton  Bedfordshire 
			 2002-03 1,890 2,962 
			 2003-04 1,818 3,295 
			 2004-05 1,924 3,287

Domestic Violence

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the trend over the last five years in the number of repeat victims in cases of domestic violence investigated by police in  (a) England and Wales,  (b) Luton and  (c) Bedfordshire.

Tony McNulty: Between 2002-03 and 2004-05, the number of reported incidents of domestic violence that involved victims of a reported domestic violence incident in the previous 12 month have risen by under2 per cent. in Luton and 11 per cent. in Bedfordshire. Data is not available for England and Wales as a whole.

Drugs

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been convicted of drug-trafficking offences in each of the last five years, broken down by police force.

Vernon Coaker: The table shows the number of people found guilty at court or cautioned in England and Wales police force areas between 2000 and 2004 for drug trafficking offences. Trafficking offences include: possession with intent to supply, unlawful supply, unlawful production and unlawful import or export.
	
		
			  Persons found guilty or cautioned for drug trafficking offences( 1) , by police force area, England and Wales, 2000 to 2004 
			  Number of persons (rounded) 
			  Police force area  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			 Avon and Somerset 310 250 280 320 320 
			 Bedfordshire 100 110 110 110 80 
			 Cambridgeshire 110 100 120 210 140 
			 Cheshire 200 150 170 170 220 
			 Cleveland 170 210 220 240 240 
			 Cumbria 120 100 110 130 150 
			 Derbyshire 210 200 220 210 260 
			 Devon and Cornwall 360 330 350 370 320 
			 Dorset 150 110 110 100 110 
			 Durham 190 160 140 160 120 
			 Essex 250 210 250 220 240 
			 Gloucestershire 100 90 120 140 130 
			 Greater Manchester 990 670 710 760 880 
			 Hampshire 390 270 310 380 390 
			 Hertfordshire 130 130 130 130 190 
			 Humberside 210 170 240 290 400 
			 Kent 460 340 310 350 410 
			 Lancashire 320 290 410 510 500 
			 Leicestershire 190 140 150 220 270 
			 Lincolnshire 80 100 100 90 120 
			 Merseyside 430 320 360 450 480 
			 City of London 20 10 20 20 10 
			 Metropolitan 2,300 2,370 2,520 2,230 2,340 
			 City of London and Metropolitan Police 2,320 2,380 2,550 2,250 2,350 
			 Norfolk 190 120 140 150 210 
			 Northamptonshire 180 100 80 70 140 
			 Northumbria 400 440 430 520 460 
			 North Yorkshire 130 100 130 120 150 
			 Nottinghamshire 330 260 270 290 440 
			 South Yorkshire 360 350 290 410 450 
			 Staffordshire 170 180 240 240 270 
			 Suffolk 220 120 130 180 190 
			 Surrey 150 140 140 150 150 
			 Sussex 450 520 570 550 450 
			 Thames Valley 320 300 270 310 320 
			 Warwickshire 90 50 60 80 90 
			 West Mercia 330 270 210 220 290 
			 West Midlands 690 660 640 790 790 
			 West Yorkshire 1,010 770 630 590 870 
			 Wiltshire 170 110 100 120 120 
			 Dyfed-Powys 240 180 210 230 170 
			 Gwent 200 210 140 120 140 
			 North Wales 130 110 100 100 130 
			 South Wales 410 380 380 420 530 
			 (1) Unlawful import and export, unlawful production of drugs (including cannabis), unlawful supply and possession with intent to supply unlawfully.

Extremist Exploitation

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department is taking towards making young people less vulnerable to being influenced and exploited by extremists.

Tony McNulty: Together with the Muslim communities, we are taking forward projects designed to reduce the risk of radicalisation of vulnerable young people. Examples of these projects are; The National Roadshow of Influential Populist Scholars, Work with the UK Youth Parliament seeking new and effective tools for engagement and Youth workshops to challenge the radicalisation of Muslim Youth. The Prison Service have commissioned a three year project on how prison service policies on preparing prisoners for release meets the needs of Muslim prisoners. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Home Office have a full programme of media intensive visits by British Muslim delegations to a number of countries in the Muslim world. And as a Government we are committed to prioritising policies that tackle the real and perceived socio-economic inequalities confronting Muslim communities today. As well as focusing on tackling the issue of young Muslims being influenced and exploited by extremists, the Home Office has funded a number of initiatives in Burnley, Oldham and Bradford which are involved in engaging young people at risk of joining far right extremist organisations. The Home Office also works closely with Rewind a project aimed at tackling issues of racism among young people. We are also supporting an initiative in Blackburn with Darwin which will bring together young girls across faith groups to discuss issues of racism and extremism.

Firearms

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many incidents a deactivated gun that has been reactivated was used in shootings and armed violence in England and Wales in the last five years; and which of these incidents resulted in murder.

Tony McNulty: Data for recorded crime involving specific types of imitation firearms in England and Wales have been only collected centrally since April 2004.
	In 2004-05, police recorded one violent offence that involved a deactivated firearm. The weapon was used as a threat and did not result in injury.

London Terrorist Attacks

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average compensation paid to those who lost  (a) one and  (b) two limbs as a result of the terrorist attacks on 7 July 2005 was; and whether further consideration is being given to increasing the sums involved.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 8 May 2006
	Compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme is paid on the basis of a tariff (scale) of awards for injuries of comparable severity. The tariff awards for the loss of limbs are as under: Loss of one leg below knee £33,000, Loss of one leg above knee £44,000, Loss of one hand or arm £44,000, Loss of one leg above knee £44,000, Loss of both hands or arms £110,000, Loss of both legs £110,000. Victims who lose a limb are likely to be eligible for additional compensation for loss of earnings, loss of future earning capacity and the costs of special care. Such compensation will vary according to individual circumstances.
	In most such cases final settlement of the claim will not be possible until the final prognosis for recovery is clear, and a final assessment can be made with regard to lost earning capacity and the costs of future care. However, a substantial interim award or awards will be made where a final determination cannot be made for some time. We announced on 8 June 2006,  Official Report, column 38WS, that we were making an extra donation of £2.5 million to the London Bombings Relief Charitable Fund to give assistance to bereaved and the injured victims of the 7 July 2006 London bombings. The further support was being made on a special, one-off basis in recognition of the exceptional circumstances of the London bombings, rather than under the rules of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme, which would require a change to legislation.

People Trafficking

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his estimate is of the number of people trafficked into the UK for  (a) sexual slavery and  (b) forced labour in each year since 1997, broken down by country of origin.

Vernon Coaker: It is difficult to make an accurate assessment of the number of people trafficked into the UK for sexual or labour exploitation and particularly by reference to the year and country of origin. An indicator of the number of victims involved in this type of trafficking is the number of referrals to the Poppy Project. Since the scheme's inception in 2003 a total of 184 women who met the criteria for the project have been referred to it (out of a total of 451 referrals between March 2003 and the end of March 2006). However, the scheme operates mainly in London and has tightly focussed criteria, so the number of victims nationwide is likely to be higher. A breakdown of the country of origin for women who met the criteria for the Poppy Project follows. Operation Pentameter, a police-led, multi-agency initiative aimed at tackling the trafficking of human beings for sexual exploitation has resulted in the rescue of 75 women since its launch on the 21 February. These cases are subject to on-going investigation and as such it would not be appropriate to disclose the country of origin of the potential trafficking victims. The Home Office has commissioned CEOP the Child Exploitation and Online Protection centre to conduct an intelligence gathering exercise to scope the problem of child trafficking in the UK; initial findings are expected in the autumn.
	There is currently little information on the scale of trafficking for labour exploitation and officials are considering ways in which our knowledge can be improved. Illegal working statistics may provide some indication of the possible size of the illegal working market. Statistical returns are provided on a monthly basis by local enforcement offices, showing the breakdown by nationality of those encountered during illegal working operations. There is currently no facility available to record whether those encountered have been trafficked for the purpose of labour exploitation. However, following are statistics available for illegal working operations for each financial year since 2002 with the top five nationalities identified (figures are not available prior to 2002). 2002-03—A total of 301 operations were reported; a total of 1,099 offenders were encountered. Poland, Lithuania, Brazil, Ukraine and Pakistan were the top five nationalities identified in descending order. 2003-04—A total of 697 operations were reported in 2003-04; a total of 2,304 offenders were encountered. Brazil, Poland, Lithuania, Bangladesh and Ukraine were the top five nationalities identified in descending order. 2004-05—A total of 3,314 operations were reported in 2004-05; a total of 9,227 offenders were encountered. Turkey, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Brazil were the top five nationalities identified in descending order.

People Trafficking

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children were identified as victims of child trafficking in the UK in each year between 2001 and 2005; from which countries they came; what percentage of those children had been sexually abused; and through which agencies most of those victims of child trafficking were found.

Vernon Coaker: The Government have no centrally collated data on the number of children trafficked into the UK. The Home Office recognises there is an urgent need to improve its intelligence on this issue and for this reason have commissioned a scoping project in partnership with the Child Protection Online Protection Centre (CEOPS) to estimate the scale and nature of the problem including source countries. Additionally newly established Minors Intelligence Teams based at Croydon and Liverpool Asylum screening units now provide monthly reports on children who have been identified as being at risk including those that they believe have been trafficked.

People Trafficking

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what programmes are in place to ensure that recovered children are not re-trafficked.

Vernon Coaker: Children who have been identified as having been trafficked and who are considered to be at risk are looked after by local authorities under section 20 of the 1989 children Act. The arrangements for trafficked children as for other children in need in the UK are matters for local authorities to decide based on careful analysis of the risks, the needs and the circumstances facing that particular child.
	The Home Office National Asylum Seekers Service (NASS) is conducting a review together with the Department for Education and Skills, to ensure that safe arrangements for lone asylum seeking children who have been assessed as being at risk from traffickers can be incorporated in those for other unaccompanied foreign national minors in need of support. This work will be carried out in partnership with the most knowledgeable and experienced local authorities. Her Majesty's Government are aware that children returned to certain countries could be put at risk of further harm, with the likelihood of being re-trafficked. As a general principle, therefore, children will only be returned, where it is considered both possible and safe to do so and only after a full assessment of each case has been thoroughly carried out. Before considering the return of a child, full consideration is given to the Government's obligations under the immigration laws and the European Convention on Human Rights and the unique circumstances of each case including an assessment of the country of origin.

People Trafficking

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the Government have transposed the Council of the European Union's Framework Decision on combating trafficking in human beings into UK law; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The UK has met its international obligations with the introduction of a range of offences covering trafficking into or out of the UK for sexual exploitation under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and Section 22 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003. With regard to trafficking for non-sexual exploitation, the UK is compliant with the framework decision following the introduction of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants) Act 2004, the Gangmasters (Licensing)Act 2004, the Proceeds of Crime Act 2004 and relevant sections of the Immigration and Asylum Act 2006. An explanatory memorandum to this effect was cleared from scrutiny in the Lords on 13 June.

Police

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police recruits have dropped out of training in each police force in each of the last five years; and what percentage this represents of the total number of recruits in each year.

Tony McNulty: The figures in table A refer to police recruits who have voluntarily resigned from their force within their probationary period. Data are only available from 2003 onwards. The figures in table B are force recruitment data for the same period. The probationary period is two years in length and an officer may be recruited in one year and then resign in the next. For this reason, it is not possible accurately to cross-reference the two sets of data so as to express the number of resignations during any given year as a percentage of the officers recruited during that year.
	
		
			  Table A: Probationer officer leavers full-time equivalent( 1)  by year 
			   As at 31 March 
			  Force  2003  2004  2005 
			 Avon and Somerset 6 21 18 
			 Bedfordshire 16 25 26 
			 Cambridgeshire 14 9 16 
			 Cheshire 6 6 5 
			 Cleveland 0 15 10 
			 Cumbria 4 3 8 
			 Derbyshire 4 9 8 
			 Devon and Cornwall 10 5 17 
			 Dorset 6 12 12 
			 Durham 3 3 12 
			 Dyfed-Powys 2 4 9 
			 Essex 5 13 35 
			 Gloucestershire 5 8 11 
			 Greater Manchester 20 67 71 
			 Gwent 0 2 5 
			 Hampshire 20 40 24 
			 Hertfordshire 16 39 40 
			 Humberside 2 17 13 
			 Kent 13 31 18 
			 Lancashire 2 12 19 
			 Leicestershire 5 8 19 
			 Lincolnshire 8 7 7 
			 London, City of 8 5 4 
			 Merseyside 8 11 16 
			 Metropolitan Police 289 377 200 
			 Norfolk 5 6 4 
			 Northamptonshire 7 6 3 
			 Northumbria 4 10 11 
			 North Wales 2 1 3 
			 North Yorkshire 0  0 
			 Nottinghamshire 0 6 7 
			 South Wales 11 8 9 
			 South Yorkshire 18 15 20 
			 Staffordshire 5 13 28 
			 Suffolk 9 17 13 
			 Surrey 15 20 19 
			 Sussex 24 84 74 
			 Thames Valley 32 34 60 
			 Warwickshire 5 4 0 
			 West Mercia 6 11 8 
			 West Midlands 51 46 45 
			 West Yorkshire 16 24 28 
			 Wiltshire 8 7 6 
			 Total 690 1,060 961 
			 (1) Full-time equivalent includes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Police officer joiners( 1) 
			   As at 31 March 
			  Force  2003  2004  2005 
			 Avon and Somerset 40 317 93 
			 Bedfordshire 89 178 106 
			 Cambridgeshire 77 107 99 
			 Cheshire 141 153 82 
			 Cleveland 129 138 83 
			 Cumbria 63 113 51 
			 Derbyshire 146 146 64 
			 Devon and Cornwall 138 131 200 
			 Dorset 72 86 76 
			 Durham 21 104 79 
			 Dyfed-Powys 7 53 35 
			 Essex 40 225 276 
			 Gloucestershire 53 98 60 
			 Greater Manchester 113 978 233 
			 Gwent 45 78 102 
			 Hampshire 267 282 204 
			 Hertfordshire 202 279 155 
			 Humberside 57 188 126 
			 Kent 192 290 191 
			 Lancashire 240 311 148 
			 Leicestershire 116 245 123 
			 Lincolnshire 64 44 59 
			 London, City of 45 52 39 
			 Merseyside 101 192 389 
			 Metropolitan Police 2,443 2,974 1,880 
			 Norfolk 71 56 77 
			 Northamptonshire 45 99 109 
			 Northumbria 151 197 159 
			 North Wales 75 66 71 
			 North Yorkshire 99 82 71 
			 Nottinghamshire 89 138 138 
			 South Wales 180 173 118 
			 South Yorkshire 103 261 205 
			 Staffordshire 29 137 117 
			 Suffolk 81 113 37 
			 Surrey 93 116 129 
			 Sussex 139 320 229 
			 Thames Valley 306 479 361 
			 Warwickshire 57 51 59 
			 West Mercia 235 88 90 
			 West Midlands 478 408 476 
			 West Yorkshire 277 337 566 
			 Wiltshire 63 120 70 
			 Total 7,471 11,003 8,035 
			 (1) Joiners includes constables who were previously Special Constables or joined as a Police Standard Direct Recruit or on the Police High Potential Development scheme. Figures are based on full-time equivalent which includes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave.

Police

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answers of 7 June 2006,  Official Report, columns 741-42W, on the police, whether his strategic objectives in relation to West Mercia police differ from those of his predecessor.

Tony McNulty: As my right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary, made clear during the course of Home Office oral question on 19 June, he believes that the creation of strategic police forces will bring benefits both in improving protective services and safeguarding dedicated local policing. However, he also made it clear that he wants to engage in further discussion with police forces and police authorities on how best to move to strategic police forces.

Prison Service

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times in the last 12 months the London Area Manager of the Prison Service, or his representative, has attended multi-agency public protection arrangements strategic management boards within his area.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Four meetings of the multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA) Strategic Management Boards were held in the last 12 months and a representative of the Area Manager attended all these meetings. The Prison Service is part of the MAPPA "Responsible Authority" with the Police and Probation and a protocol exists between the agencies which has been signed by the Area Manager. This requires the Area Manager to ensure consistent representation at Strategic Management Board. The main responsibilities of the Prison Service and the Area Manager are to ensure that operational functions work consistently in prisons. This is monitored through assurance visits to each prison by the Area Manager's representative.

Prisons

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times illegal drugs have been found in each prison in each of the last seven years, broken down by  (a) type and  (b) quantity of drug; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Prison Service does not hold data on drugs finds broken down by type of drug and quantity. Centrally available information records any drug related find and includes items associated with drug taking.
	Individual prisons will have information on the type and quantity of drugs found and use this information in developing a local drug strategy for combating drug abuse.

Railway/Underground Crime

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes have been reported at each mainline railway station in each of the last five years.

Derek Twigg: I have been asked to reply.
	The number of crimes reported at each mainline railway station—namely those stations in Great Britain managed by Network Rail—and recorded by the British Transport police (BTP) in each financial year since 2001-02 is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Notifiable offences 
			  Mainline railway station  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Birmingham New Street 1,049 1,053 1,061 1,084 917 
			 Edinburgh Waverley 445 498 590 506 366 
			 Gatwick Airport 144 231 269 273 162 
			 Glasgow Central 592 563 480 409 361 
			 Leeds 781 1,275 1,239 1,388 1,346 
			 Liverpool Limestreet 475 426 436 445 482 
			 London Bridge 548 588 646 575 567 
			 London Cannon Street 34 45 42 60 58 
			 London Charing Cross 317 352 269 303 267 
			 London Euston 1,155 1,151 975 909 840 
			 London Fenchurch Street 50 58 69 55 60 
			 London Kings Cross 1,091 1,274 1,096 1,033 896 
			 London Liverpool Street 756 781 910 916 877 
			 London Paddington 1,102 1,073 1,226 1,065 944 
			 London Victoria 1,732 1,938 1,864 1,956 1,743 
			 London Waterloo 1,788 2,270 2,159 1,979 1,551 
			 Manchester Piccadilly 764 821 843 940 957 
		
	
	In reading the data supplied in the table, the following factors should be considered:
	(i) the data includes crimes committed on train journeys ending at these locations as well as those occurring on the stations themselves; and
	(ii) the Home Office introduced a National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) that all police forces across England and Wales were required to adopt. BTP adopted this standard on1 April 2002. The impact of the new recording standard saw an increase in recorded crime, equating to an average 22 per cent. increase recorded by all police forces across England and Wales. The basic principle of NCRS is that if on the balance of probability a crime has been committed it is recorded as a crime. As a result 2001-02 data cannot be meaningfully compared with subsequent years. The standard has made crime recording more victim focussed.

Swale Borough Council

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to designate Swale borough council as an alcohol control zone.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 19 June 2006
	Local authorities can place restrictions on public drinking in areas with a history of alcohol related crime, disorder or nuisance by making a Designated Public Place Order (DPPO), sometimes referred to as an 'alcohol control zone'. The power, given under section 13 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, is not available to the Secretary of State for the Home Department, and can only be exercised by local government. Current figures reveal that around 170 authorities now have adopted this measure, with around 360 Orders published in England and Wales.

Young Victims of Crime

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of victims of crime have been under 18-years-old in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is not collected centrally. With the exception of certain specific sexual offences where the age of the victim is defined by statute, no details of the victim's age are available from the recorded crime series.

Biodiversity

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which Minister in his Department is responsible for monitoring his Department's compliance with its duty under section 74 of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 to have regard to the purpose of conserving biological diversity in carrying out its functions; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: As Financial Secretary, I am the HM Treasury's Sustainable Development Minister responsible for both sustainable development policy and sustainability of our internal operations.
	HMT is taking a number of steps to reduce the impact of its operations on the environment. These are set out in our sustainable development action plan which is available on our website. http://www.hm- treasury.gov.uk./media/089/DA/sustainabledev_170306.pdf .

Birth Rates (Peterborough)

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the birth rate was per 1,000 women aged  (a) 19,  (b) 18,  (c) 17,  (d) 16,  (e) 15,  (f) 14 and  (g) under 14 years in (i) Peterborough constituency and (ii) Peterborough city council area in each year since 1997.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 20 June 2006:
	As the National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the birth rate per 1,000 women aged (a) 19, (b) 18, (c) 17, (d) 16, (e) 15, (f) 14 and (g) under 14 years in (i) Peterborough constituency and (ii) Peterborough City Council area in each year since 1997. (77911)
	Where constituencies are not co-terminous with local authority boundaries, as is the case with Peterborough, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) do not generally release figures based on recording of mother's age at birth registration. This is to protect against disclosure of information provided in confidence. Figures are provided for the relevant local authority instead.
	The latest year for which livebirth data are available is 2005 and the table below shows livebirth rates per 1,000 female population by age for Peterborough Unitary Authority for the period 1997 to 2005. Rates for 2005 are provisional, as they are calculated using mid-2004 population estimates.
	There were too few livebirths to girls resident in Peterborough at ages under 14,14 and 15 for figures to be provided separately without breaching confidentiality. Therefore, livebirths to girls aged under 16 have been aggregated in the table.
	Rates by single year of age at local authority level should be treated with caution. Population estimates are only considered reliable at local authority level when aggregated to groups of at least five years of age.
	
		
			  Teenage livebirth rate per 1,000 females by age, Peterborough Unitary Authority, 1997-2005 
			   Age 
			   Under 16  16  17  18  19 
			 1997 6 14 31 59 115 
			 1998 7 19 47 70 87 
			 1999 4 19 41 77 95 
			 2000 7 15 37 61 66 
			 2001 7 12 38 51 89 
			 2002 7 12 35 51 87 
			 2003 5 21 37 55 105 
			 2004 7 23 41 54 79 
			 2005(1) 5 19 41 65 88 
			 (1) Provisional rates, based on mid-2004 population estimates

Death Rates

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) death rate from heart disease, stroke and related illnesses and  (b) death rate from all cancers was among (i) people aged 65 and under, (ii) people aged 75 and under and (iii) all people, in each year since 1970.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 20 June 2006:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the (a) death rate from heart disease, stroke and related illnesses and (b) death rate from all cancers was amongst (i) people aged 65 and under, (ii) people aged 75 and under and (iii) all people, in each year since 1970. I am replying in her absence. (78013)
	The most recent year for which figures are available is 2004. The table below shows age-standardised death rates from all circulatory diseases and cancer, for persons aged under 65 and under 75 years, and for all ages, in England and Wales for the years 1970 to 2004.
	Death rates1 from circulatory diseases2 and cancer,3 for persons by age,4 England and
	Wales, 1970 to 2004s
	
		
			  Death rates( 1)  from circulatory diseases( 2)  and cancer( 3) , for persons by age( 4) , England and Wales, 1970 to 2004( 5) 
			  Death rate per 100,000 population 
			   Circulatory diseases  Cancer 
			   Under 65  Under 75  All ages  Under 65  Under 75  All ages 
			 1970 135.7 268.0 537.5 105.0 163.9 213.2 
			 1971 134.5 264.7 527.7 104.6 163.3 212.1 
			 1972 138.0 272.6 542.1 104.2 163.8 213.5 
			 1973 135.2 266.2 530.2 103.7 163.8 213.9 
			 1974 134.9 264.6 522.7 103.6 164.2 215.2 
			 1975 131.4 258.1 512.0 101.9 162.1 214.0 
			 1976 129.8 254.9 506.6 103.7 165.0 217.6 
			 1977 127.1 249.7 487.6 101.7 162.4 215.1 
			 1978 129.5 252.1 489.4 102.2 163.3 216.5 
			 1979 129.5 250.0 487.0 102.0 163.1 217.7 
			 1980 122.8 239.0 465.3 100.7 162.1 217.0 
			 1981 117.9 232.3 452.1 99.6 160.9 216.4 
			 1982 113.9 226.1 442.4 97.4 159.8 215.1 
			 1983 112.7 224.2 435.1 98.1 161.2 217.5 
			 1984 107.0 215.0 422.1 99.4 163.7 224.0 
			 1985 105.8 212.6 425.4 97.9 161.9 223.5 
			 1986 101.9 205.7 407.8 96.1 159.8 220.6 
			 1987 97.9 198.4 391.4 95.6 159.3 221.3 
			 1988 92.4 191.4 381.3 95.2 160.2 222.6 
			 1989 86.8 182.9 370.1 93.1 158.3 221.7 
			 1990 83.7 176.4 357.7 91.5 156.1 219.0 
			 1991 80.2 171.5 355.0 89.9 154.7 218.1 
			 1992 76.2 163.5 340.6 88.4 153.0 216.7 
			 1993 75.6 163.1 340.8 86.5 149.2 210.7 
			 1994 69.0 151.0 317.4 83.9 146.5 207.9 
			 1995 67.9 148.1 313.3 81.8 143.9 204.8 
			 1996 65.4 141.9 302.6 80.3 140.6 200.8 
			 1997 61.5 133.7 288.0 77.0 136.5 196.2 
			 1998 60.0 130.0 282.8 76.8 135.4 195.5 
			 1999 56.5 122.6 270.9 74.6 131.3 190.9 
			 2000 53.2 113.8 252.8 73.1 128.2 187.0 
			 2001 51.4 109.3 252.7 72.4 126.5 188.0 
			 2002 49.7 104.0 246.2 71.4 125.2 187.1 
			 2003 47.9 99.1 239.3 69.4 122.0 183.6 
			 2004 44.0 90.6 219.6 67.5 119.5 180.3 
			 (1) Rate per 100,000 population standardised to the European Standard Population. (2) Deaths from all circulatory diseases selected using the International Classification of Diseases, Eighth Revision (ICD-8) codes 390-444.1, 444.4-458.9 and 782 for the years 1970 to 1978, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes 390-459 for the years 1979 to 2000, and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes 100-199 for 2001 onwards. (3) Deaths from malignant neoplasms selected using the International Classification of Diseases, Eighth Revision (ICD-8) codes 140-207 for the years 1976 to 1978, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes 140-208 for the years 1979 to 2000, and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes C00-C97for 2001 onwards. (4) Deaths of babies aged under 28 days are excluded from 1986 onwards. (5) Figures are for registrations of death in each calendar year from 1970 to 1992 and for occurrences of death in each calendar year from 1993 onwards.  Note: Between 1984 and 1992 a different interpretation of ICD-9 selection Rule 3 was used to code underlying cause of death in England and Wales to that used internationally. This change means that comparisons between this period and years before and after, should be interpreted with caution. The impact of the change on mortality statistics was analysed and reported in annual mortality publications in 1984 and 1994. *The introduction of ICD-10 for coding cause of death in 2001 also means that figures are not completely comparable with data for years before this date. Comparisons between the data before and after 2001 should therefore also be interpreted with caution. Articles specifically examining the effect of the change in classification for circulatory disease and cancer trends were published in Health Statistics Quarterly 22 and 23. **More information about these changes, as well as the results of the study, can be found on the National Statistics website at www.statistics.gov.uk/icdl0mortality. *Mortality statistics: Cause 1984. DH2 No. 11, pg viii-ix. Mortality statistics: Cause 1993 (revised) and 1994. DH2 No.21, pg xxv-xxxiii. **Griffiths C, Brock A, Rooney C (2004) The impact of introducing ICD-10 on trends in mortality from circulatory diseases in England and Wales. Health Statistics Quarterly 22, 14-20. Brock A, Griffiths C, Rooney C (2004) The effect of the introduction of ICD-10 on cancer mortality trends in England and Wales. Health Statistics Quarterly 23, 7-17.

Fixed-odds betting terminals

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how fixed-odd betting terminals are taxed in  (a) betting shops and  (b) casinos; and what estimate the Government have made of the tax revenue from such terminals in the last 12 months.

John Healey: Takings from fixed-odds betting terminals have been within the scope of VAT from 6 December 2005 when they were also removed from the scope of General Betting Duty. They will be liable to Amusement Machine Licence Duty from 1 August 2006. Fixed-odds betting terminals cannot be offered outside of a licensed bookmaker.
	In Budget 2006 we estimated that revenue would increase by £25 million in 2006-07 from aligning the taxation of gaming machines with the Gambling Act. This includes the increase in revenue form fixed-odds betting terminals.

Small Change Big Difference

Anne Milton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department and its agencies have taken following the launch of the Government's Small Change Big Difference campaign.

John Healey: The Treasury and its agencies support the Government's "Small Change Big Difference" campaign.
	We have an on-site low cost fitness centre, our staff restaurants have healthy eating options on menus, and we provide facilities for on-site low cost therapies such as shiatsu massage.
	We support fitness activities run by staff such as a yoga club, running club, football and other sporting teams. There is an annual sports day in July each year. In addition we work with our occupational health providers to seek other ways of encouraging healthy living and will be holding a well being day in June 2006.
	We provide a number of family friendly policies to promote work-life balance such as the opportunity for all staff to request varied working patterns and not just those who are statutorily entitled to seek alternative working arrangements.
	We will be introducing a smoking ban in the Treasury building before the end of 2006 and providing help line contacts for those who wish to stop smoking.
	In common with other Government Departments we will continue to work with the Department of Health to promote further awareness of healthy life style options among our staff.

Tax Credits

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations  (a) he and  (b) the Paymaster General has received from the Citizens Advice Bureau about the complexity of tax credit award notices; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Treasury Ministers regularly receive representations on various aspects of the administration of the tax credits system.